We bought a house during Covid-19 | 3 Tips to help you buy one too
Let’s just rent until we can find something we truly like. . . I remember telling my husband these exact words when the search was getting stressful and I was 9 months pregnant. We submitted 5 offers to sellers and all got outbid before we were finally accepted. Talk about stressed the Heck out. I prayed so much and cried many tears during this process. I would do it all over again because the price of homeownership is PRICELESS. Here are 3 tips that helped us purchase a home during the pandemic. Which will apply to any home buying process in the future.
SAVE SAVE AND SAVE SOME MORE!
Thankfully my husband and I had a little saved to purchase a home but downpayment and closing cost was something we weren't prepared for. Coming from single mothers who’ve never purchased a home, had us clueless about the amount of out of pocket cost. Unfortunately we didn’t qualify for downpayment assistance (gift and curse of certain income and credit requirements ). I remember our lender asking if we had anyone who could help us and we gave a blank stare. So guess what, we will save for our forever home and our children’s home in the future.
A great tip for those looking to buy soon, open an online bank account. We opened an account with Ally and transferred money over there every month. It was easier to transfer money to that bank account because the money wasn’t easy to access. Check out online accounts with interest that accrue when you save. That was another plus. Our money was growing expeditiously in an online account.
Be REALISTIC
I wanted a brand new mansion on a 4 for $4 from Wendy’s budget (lol). I remember our realtor showing us the first home. I was creeped out from spiders, a little wear and tear, and even a stain on the wall. Call me bougie, I wanted new and didn’t care one way or another on how that was going to happen. Until our amazing realtor showed us a brand new home in our budget. Unfortunately, it was in an up and coming neighborhood. Needless to say the home was BEAUTIFUL but the neighborhood wasn’t and I’d rather be safe in an older home than swimming in luxury in a not so safe neighborhood.
So, be realistic with yourself and your budget. We originally had 3 budgets. 1. What we prefer 2. What we can handle 3. Our max. So let’s use numbers for example. 1. If you prefer to pay little to anything $1,000 would be great. 2. A ballpark of under $1,800+ is something manageable for the common middle-class person. 3. $2,000+ may be the absolute max for some.
Pause The Applause
The first house we put an offer into I knew it was ours. Believe it or not, the house we bought is the same layout as the house I wanted. We knew this was a done deal, we decided to come in $5,000 over asking price. The sellers told us we submitted the highest offer. However, they didn't want to pay closing cost and as first time home buyers, we weren’t prepared to take on everything. I cried, friend! I was devastated. It was in the perfect neighborhood and location. It wasn’t new but it was livable. I had a lot of plans of how I could spruce her up!
After that disappointment, we were still on track to find a home in time before my delivery. March came and we put 3 offers in and all were outbid. Why are people buying homes during Covid-19? The interest rates were at a record low. So after a while, I got used to the devastating call from our realtor. “They chose another buyer”. Needless to say, it’s not completely yours until you receive clear to close from your lender.
CLEAR TO CLOSE!
Wow, it felt like we’d never hear those words. Maverick was due anyday. One night I refreshed my home snap feed and saw a home in the same neighborhood and same layout as the house we put the first offer in. I sent it to my realtor and in 20 minutes she facetimed us walking through the front door. Guys, we purchased a home 200+ miles away. So she toured the home and I was so excited to hear 4 bedroom, 2100+ sqft, large rooms, and all the above. So we put an offer in that night. A couple days later our offer was ACCEPTED *praise dances*. We finally drove down to see the house on home inspection day and talk about surprised. We didn't see every little imperfection on camera. Once we saw it in person, we had our afterthoughts, but I was so happy to have a home to call ours. I knew I could put my touch on it! New blog posts are coming for those updates as well (yay).
In Conclusion
We’ve been homeowners for a few months now and we have done so much since we first moved in. I can say the journey to homeownership was so worth the late nights of praying and crying. I’m so thankful we chose to keep the faith and continue to fight for homeownership. I hope this helps with your home buying process. Spend low during the months you’re thinking of buying a house because every dime counts, literally. If you’re in the Hampton Roads area my realtor Melannie Rhoad will be able to assist you in your home buying needs. Follow me on Instagram for more updates on our home!
Xoxo,
Antoinette F-M
— Meet Antoinette —
God fearing Wife, Mother of 3, Social Media Manager, and Blogger. Blogs about her passion with social media, journey through motherhood and wifehood, sharing her testimonies, and honest product reviews.
