{"id":16459,"date":"2020-05-05T08:05:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T15:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=16459"},"modified":"2021-07-16T07:28:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T14:28:03","slug":"buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"4 True Stories About Buying a House During a Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019d been planning on buying a house<\/a> before coronavirus, how has the pandemic changed the homebuying experience? Getting an inspection<\/a> and an appraisal<\/a> could be a challenge, and your closing<\/a> might be delayed. But reading about what could <\/i>happen is different than knowing what has<\/i> happened to other buyers.<\/p>\n

Here are four stories about buying a home during coronavirus. Each homebuyer faced unique challenges \u2014 everything from the risk of water getting turned off<\/a> in their new home to picking out countertops remotely \u2014 and their stories can give you a good idea of what to expect when you\u2019re expecting… to buy a house during a pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
<\/a> Source: (Jen Trail \/ Ruum Media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buying a house that needed city sign-off<\/h2>\n

Agent Bonnie Roseman<\/a>, who works with 82% more single-family homes than the average agent in Portland, Oregon<\/a>, helped first-time homebuyer Kelly Ogilvie make an offer on February 24. News of the coronavirus had started spreading, and they were getting nervous.<\/p>\n

Ogilvie lived in a studio apartment and also rented a studio for her work as a musician, located in a building with common hallways where she had to walk by other people frequently. She wanted to be in her own home if she had to shelter in place.<\/p>\n

Despite multiple offers and stiff competition, she won an adorable Portland bungalow. However, the home inspection<\/a> revealed a problem with the sewer line. It had to be fixed before she could move in, and it needed a city inspector\u2019s sign-off.<\/p>\n

Roseman describes the mad rush to bring it all together.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriday night, the mayor decided he was going to shut down the city of Portland. We were operating that weekend under the idea that on Monday there was going to be an announcement and scrambling to schedule inspections for Monday.\u201d They squeaked in just under the wire, as the city halted interior visits at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

With the go-ahead to move in, Ogilvie also encountered issues with her down payment<\/a> and delays at closing<\/a>. \u201cI took money out for my down payment on a Monday morning, and it was the day the stock market took a big dive,\u201d she says. \u201cIt made me nervous; it was very difficult to get a hold of various banks and financial institutions to try to work out the rest of my down payment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything got worked out, and she was all set to close when there was another snare. The title company gave the wrong transfer information to the bank, so the mortgage company didn\u2019t pay for her home! After closing a day late, she finally moved in, but… the city had gone into lockdown.<\/p>\n

Portland Water Bureau removed staff from facilities, and Ogilvie couldn\u2019t get her water hooked up. After phone calls to the previous owner \u2014 who emailed the water company \u2014 they agreed to leave it on for a week until the account could be transferred into her name.<\/p>\n

Despite the hiccups, Ogilvie is thrilled about her new home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have a lot more resources here. I have space for a little garden and I have space to have a bigger fridge and things like that so I can have more food around, just in case,\u201d all of which makes her feel better right now.<\/p>\n

\"Granite<\/a>
<\/a> Source: (Maridav \/ Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buying a new construction home with a cross-country move<\/h2>\n

Michael Frost had moved away from home to go to medical school in New York City, but after several years away, he and his wife, Tracey, decided it was time to move home. But, as essential workers, they couldn\u2019t leave the city. They called on family to help.<\/p>\n

Agent Jeremy Kahler<\/a> has worked in Rapid City, South Dakota<\/a>, for more than 15 years, selling more homes than the average agent, but this was a first. \u201cThey\u2019d had other properties on their list, but they were occupied. They elected to take those off and only look at vacant homes and new construction<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we had Jeremy and my family go look at the houses, we did only choose houses that were empty because we wanted to limit their exposure to other people,\u201d Michael says. They ended up writing an offer on a partially finished spec home<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Frosts count themselves lucky that they had family members whose taste they trusted to help select the finishing touches on the home. \u201cI actually know Jeremy a little bit and trust his judgement, but having the family eyes on it, too, was also very helpful,\u201d says Michael. Kahler set up video conferences, taking samples out to the property and holding them up in front of the kitchen cabinets so that the Frosts could see how it looked in the kitchen\u2019s lighting.<\/p>\n

While they\u2019d been given options for places to shop for countertops, they had to rush some decisions. \u201cDepending on where they were located, the factories were starting to shut down,\u201d Kahler says. \u201cGetting materials and supplies was becoming the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

While picking colors through email has been tough, and buying a house remotely<\/a> a little nerve-racking, the Frosts are more concerned about the move itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have family coming to help us,\u201d Tracey explains, \u201cbut they might not be able to anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also don\u2019t know when travel restrictions will be lifted, though they\u2019re grateful to be moving out of New York City. As of the end of April, they\u2019re waiting to close until the builder has finished.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/a> Source: (Obi Onyeador \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buying a home that needed a full remodel<\/h2>\n

Rapid City, South Dakota, closed down a little later than other cities, and agent Shauna Sheet<\/a>\u2019s clients were still able to look at homes in person and make an offer before social distancing and other measures went into effect. Her buyers had been living in a small apartment with their three-year-old after relocating back to their hometown.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the elderly sellers had already moved into assisted living, which made showing the home and arranging for estimates easier. The home needed updates, and while the kitchen remodel and knocking down walls was optional, radon remediation<\/a> was not.<\/p>\n

While at first they\u2019d planned to meet with workers at the house, there was a change of plans. Sheets would \u201cping the contractors one-day codes and have them access the house\u201d using the lockbox. \u201cWe created everything where no one was in the house at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The homebuyers, both pharmacists and essential workers, say that it\u2019s been fun to have a distraction from everything that\u2019s been going on. The wife, Katy, enjoys \u201cgoing by once a week when nobody\u2019s there, and nobody\u2019s been there for a couple of days,\u201d to respect social distancing. While they closed on April 7, they haven\u2019t moved in yet.<\/p>\n

When they had to pick out cabinets, the showroom set up a private appointment. \u201cIt was a boutique set-up with us one-on-one with the showroom employee and the entire store empty. They had Lysol everywhere, and they\u2019d been sanitizing a lot, and we had masks on,\u201d says Katy. The contractor<\/a> communicates with them via text, email, or Zoom.<\/p>\n

The only part of the process that Katy found strange was the gradual progression from hugging Sheets at the beginning of their home purchase journey to the twenty-minute closing wearing masks and gloves.<\/p>\n

On the plus side? Because few other people are remodeling right now, Katy feels that they\u2019ve had the pick of companies to work with them, and they\u2019ve saved money on many of the repairs.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
<\/a> Source: (Tania Miron \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buying a home after almost giving up<\/h2>\n

After bouncing from Washington, D.C., to Dallas, homebuyer Mark had decided to settle down in Portland, Oregon. At first, given the competitive market<\/a>, he and agent Bonnie Roseman had a hard time finding him a house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d made a couple of offers that didn\u2019t hit the mark, and I was just about to give up when the COVID stuff started coming up,\u201d he says. He was still touring homes, but \u201cdefinitely a little more concerned about entering too many homes,\u201d when he walked into one and knew right away that it was his. It had all the features he wanted, and it was close to a park for his dog.<\/p>\n

He told Bonnie to jump on it. Given that he\u2019d already sold his D.C. condo remotely, Mark wasn\u2019t too worried about buying his new home the same way. Using DocuSign and other digital tools, everything was completed remotely<\/a>. According to him, it was an effortless process.<\/p>\n

Roseman attended his closing by phone, something she\u2019s had to get used to, as \u201cbefore COVID I didn\u2019t use Zoom, or anything virtually. Now I do them all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone involved in the homebuying and selling process has had to adjust to the \u201cnew normal\u201d as the coronavirus pandemic unfolds. In some areas, the situation changes weekly, but with the right agent<\/a> on their side, each of these homebuyers was able to get it done.<\/p>\n

Header Image Source: (Jen Trail \/ Ruum Media)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,620,697],"tags":[711],"class_list":["post-16459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-buy-house","category-market-news","tag-buyer-covid"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHere\u2019s What it\u2019s Really Like to Buy a House During a Pandemic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 True Stories About Buying a House During a Pandemic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-05T15:05:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-16T14:28:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dena Landon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dena Landon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Here\u2019s What it\u2019s Really Like to Buy a House During a Pandemic","description":"We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4 True Stories About Buying a House During a Pandemic","og_description":"We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2020-05-05T15:05:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-16T14:28:03+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dena Landon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gohomelight","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dena Landon","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/"},"author":{"name":"Dena Landon","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c8d1b71f695651e3f8e87154cbbbd1b"},"headline":"4 True Stories About Buying a House During a Pandemic","datePublished":"2020-05-05T15:05:18+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-16T14:28:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/"},"wordCount":1550,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png","keywords":["buyer-covid"],"articleSection":["Buyers","Get Started","News & Market Trends"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/","name":"Here\u2019s What it\u2019s Really Like to Buy a House During a Pandemic","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png","datePublished":"2020-05-05T15:05:18+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-16T14:28:03+00:00","description":"We scouted four real-life examples from four homebuyers who bought during the coronavirus pandemic. Here\u2019s what it was like for them.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus-city.png","width":700,"height":400,"caption":"Source: (Jen Trail \/ Ruum Media)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-i-bought-a-house-during-coronavirus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"4 True Stories About Buying a House During a Pandemic"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6c8d1b71f695651e3f8e87154cbbbd1b","name":"Dena Landon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a67702363b3a8ff67dc84f2e3089427007dca6e422f2400e0360194b08ccc734?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a67702363b3a8ff67dc84f2e3089427007dca6e422f2400e0360194b08ccc734?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Dena Landon"},"description":"Dena Landon is a writer with over 10 years of experience and has had bylines appear in The Washington Post, Salon, Good Housekeeping and more. A homeowner and real estate investor herself, Dena's bought and sold four homes, worked in property management for other investors, and has written over 200 articles on real estate.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dena-landon-828a81165\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/dena-landon\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}