What it’s like to build a home right now
We had our electrical walk through on our home last Friday.
It’s amazing how quick this went up - they dug the hole only 16 days before! Now here we are with the walls surrounding us that will soon be our new home.
I couldn’t be more grateful for the progress they have made.
Normally this wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary… but 33 days ago social distancing started.
The funny thing is we spent the last two years considering when the right time for us to buy was. Mostly due to me overanalyzing the market, hoping the market would level back toward a buyers market. I entered my real estate career five years ago when the market was booming and the supply was at record lows. The low inventory caused home prices to appreciate at record speed.
When fall came last year we were ready to move, regardless of what the market was doing. In November we started looking around at resale homes. The low inventory made us unsuccessful at finding a resale home we liked.
In January, we found a new construction home we loved. I was CONFIDENT in the market. Experts were saying 2020 would be an amazing year. I had no doubt.
Shortly after we put an offer on a custom new build. Which included $7,500 in earnest money.
We waited for our builder to close on our lot. They estimated mid March.
We continued along with the process. We started selections for our house.
Then COVID-19 hit. It hit hard. It hit fast.
And then social distancing started {38 days ago}
I PANICKED.
We were in a new reality, something most of us have never experienced in our lifetimes. You could feel the mood changing.
We made a plan… We prepared for the worst, while hoping for the best.
That first week was the toughest.
I experienced each of the five stages of grief that week, one stage per day. I didn’t think about our home build, we had to be out of our current home by the end of March so I only thought about moving before a shutdown came.
Once we got moved that’s when the panic started setting in. ALL the questions came to my head:
Will people still buy houses?
Will I have have any income?
If I don’t have income will we get a mortgage?
Will our home construction stop?
Will we close on time?
Will we lock in our rate? What if our rate lock expires?
Have rates gone up?
Have rates gone down?
What if our builder goes bankrupt because no one is buying houses?
Would we lose our earnest money?
Will this be like 2008?
Seriously, ALL the questions.
I eventually talked myself off a ledge.
Two days later we had a meeting scheduled with our lender. We were suppose to apply for our loan. Everything was happening so fast, with no assurances about anything in the world.
We had a virtual meeting with him. He told us rates had gone up 1% since we originally applied. I remember him saying:
“Rates are moving up to 9 times a day.”
“Rates have never been more volatile.”
”No one knows what will happen.”
Again, I went down the rabbit hole of “what ifs”…
As for the 1% rate increase…
The good news - we still qualified for the loan
The bad news - our payment would be $300/month higher
So yeah, I PANICKED AGAIN.
I talked to our builder. Who could only tell me what I already knew. He assured us they would continue to build until they were told they couldn’t.
WE PRAYED.
We put the process in God’s hands and moved forward. A week later our lender told us rates dropped again. We applied for our loan and locked in a rate lower than we expected.
Our builder started digging on March 31st.
The not so glamorous part of building a home is the temporary housing, we had decided to live with my in-laws for 10 weeks. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been an adjustment for everyone in the world. We’re healthy and our house is moving forward.
We go once a week to check on the progress of our house. It gives us something to look forward to each week. It gives us a reprieve from quarantine.
Most of all, It gives us hope for the future.
Here are my tips for anyone building (or thinking about building) a home right now:
Find a builder you trust - Our builder has been AMAZING. They communicate with us regularly and answer ALL our questions.
Find an agent you can trust - So here’s the deal…I’m the agent on this transaction and I panicked. It’s okay if you panic, but be sure to have an agent you can confide in and who you trust.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! - Again, you’re going to have questions. Lots of them. ASK them all. Ask your agent, ask your builder.
Set up communication expectations with your agent and builder - Schedule a weekly call, or setup a group email or text where everyone is included. Communicate, and then communicate some more. There’s no such thing as over-communicating right now.
Keep yourself, your friends & family members away from the build site - Yeah, this is a tough one. You can’t control other people. Your mom & dad might be bored at home, but remind them there’s a reason construction has been allowed to continue up to this point. If extra people go to your build site they could unknowingly expose the workers. Which could ultimately lead to delays on your home.
Even if you’re going out to your build site be sure to check with your builder first to ensure no one is working during your visit.
Expect potential delays - Our builder has done an amazing job keeping everything on track for our build. But vendors and manufacturers are shutting down across the country. This could lead to potential delays, or additional costs if you have to find a vendor elsewhere.
There is no “right” time to buy - take it from someone who’s waited years for that “right time” to make a move. You just never know what’s going to happen. Make a move when you feel it’s right for YOU. But always feel free to weigh your options with your realtor, they will have extra insight to what’s happening in your local marketplace.
Building a house right now is a great way to maintain social distancing - You can have your initial appointment with your builder via Zoom, select your floor plan online.
Relax - you can only control so much!
If you’re worried about the market please know this won’t be like 2008. Our local market sales were up by 16% in March. Economists are expecting our economy to recover quickly. If you’re waiting to make a move consider talking it through with your realtor. There are lots of things you can do now to prepare yourself to still make a move this year.