Wow. It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down to write a post like this. I promised my Patrons forever ago to write about how we bought our home during the Corona Virus pandemic, and things have finally calmed down enough for me to talk about it. This was one crazy ride y’all. I’ll do my best to break it down, because this tale is full of setbacks, small wins, and more setbacks. No worries though; we are in our new home and making things work while the pandemic continues. So grab a snack and settle in for my tale of how my partner and I bought our first house and the silly stories that come with what should have been a pretty straight forward (but exciting) time in our lives.
Finding “the One”
Every “How to Buy Your First Home” guide tells you to find your budget, figure out your must haves, find a realtor, get approved for your home loan, etc. Some guides might even warn you that you’ll have to compromise or make sacrifices to find a home that you’ll love. What it doesn’t prepare you for is shopping for a house in a pandemic.
Housing prices crept up and up, even though we had thought they would surely fall based on the job loss and state of the economy in the US. Houses were not staying on the market longer than a day or two. Bidding wars were becoming normal. In fact, the first house that we decided to put an offer on had over 25 other offers. We went $20,000 over asking price and still walked away without a house.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. Let’s start with what our wish list consisted of for our first home. This list was based off our experiences in the rental home we had been in for the past three years that was three small bedrooms with one bath (and my year or so of living in an apartment complex in a two bedroom, one bath with the crappiest neighbors known to man) and where we saw/see ourselves in the next 5 to 7 years. Then, I’ll break down what our first home actually had.
Continue reading “Spoilers! We Bought A House During the Pandemic!”
