Liz F on Buying a Home During the COVID Pandemic

Sitting down for a hot matcha latte, I’m looking across the table at Liz, a friend and former colleague. Her bright energy fills the entire coffee shop as we start to catch up and chat about her unprecedented home buying experience.

Liz purchased her first home in April of 2020, during the early days of the COVID pandemic. She had no idea she would be going under contract as the entire world was shutting down, an incredible surprise when she submitted an offer on an early-March afternoon. The timing added complexity and unpredictability to the transaction, impacting some elements of the normal home buying process.

Meet Liz

Backing up to how the purchase came about; Liz was living and working in Denver when she realized that she wasn’t interested in renting any longer. Originally from Queens, New York, her career in the technology industry allowed her to save and accumulate enough of a financial foundation that when the end of her apartment lease approached, she felt ready to take the leap into homeownership.

Liz proactively contacted a realtor off of Instagram and started a conversation in December of 2019, about four months before her apartment move out date. While it was an extremely positive experience, she had some reservations and set the idea aside for a few months before beginning a formal search.

COVID begins to spread

That March, as headlines were starting to appear about strong cold symptoms, Liz returned to the thought of owning her own home, feeling curious to see what was available in her price range. She spent exactly one day looking at a handful of listings in the Sloan’s Lake and Highlands neighborhoods. With the help of her savvy realtor, she felt excited enough about a particular townhome they had visited that she made her first offer. The process started to pick up speed; the offer was accepted that weekend and the due diligence phase kicked off - an unusual outcome of a first offer! Within days however, everything was about to change and cities would go into total lockdown to avoid the spread of an unknown disease.

I can tell that Liz is still incredulous at the way the transaction unfolded as she relays the story to me now, seemingly fast and slow all at once. Under normal conditions, the process from offer accepted to closing only lasts about 30 days. During this time buyers are responsible for working with their lender to secure a loan, scheduling an inspection, making requests for repairs for any items that come up in an inspection and preparing to close. Many of these steps take place within the first few days of going under contract and the buyer must move in accordance with agreed upon deadlines in the contract. After about the second week though, everything slows down and it can often feel like a waiting game until closing.

For Liz, besides COVID restrictions creating uncertainty around next steps, another unique element of this transaction was that the property involved was brand new - a newbuild - and construction was ongoing throughout the majority of the due diligence timeline. She took the changing environment in stride, tackling each task in front of her with grace, no matter how unexpected. As she completed the inspection, received the green light on her loan, and watched the thirty-day mark approach, it became evident that the home would not be ready by the original closing date.

Pivoting quickly, Liz worked with the apartment complex to extend the end date of her lease by two weeks, now the very same date of her closing. She replanned her move out and move in dates and waited until all final repairs on the home were complete. Finally, as closing day arrived, she was required to sign the closing documents from the confines of her car, social distancing with her REALTOR parked beside her, a new process for the whole industry.

Prevailing through the unknown

We smile at each other, both of us having an empathetic response to the stress that she so obviously encountered during that time and we take a beat to laugh at the inevitable part of the story where she’ll detail moving out of her apartment and into a new home all in a matter of hours. Despite all of the hiccups along the way, I can see exactly how proud Liz is of this accomplishment and everything it means to her years later. She reflects on walking through her new front door, staring at the space around her and thinking “This is really happening. I did this all by myself”.

Liz's home buying journey serves as a powerful testament to her determination and readiness for this significant step in her life, not to mention, resilience during such an uncertain time! Despite the challenges posed by unforeseen obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic and building delays, Liz remained steadfast in her resolve. Ultimately, her success is a shining example of seizing an opportunity regardless of external circumstances and focusing on making your dreams a reality.