First, go through your credit reports and make sure there are no problems. IF there are, and they are fixeable, fix them.
I would start looking around January, but an easy pace. Mainly just to get a really good idea of not only the neighborhoods, but also what is going on in pricing. Looking around in January/February will give you really good insight into if prices are fairly stable come April and May.
i would say contact a lender mid to late February or so.
