What it's like to move during a pandemic

We recently helped this sweet family make an out of state move during the pandemic. These two just amazed us with their ability to adapt to the changing times, and and their perseverance with things got tough. Since their story was so unique we asked them to share a few thoughts on what the process was like.

How was buying a home during a pandemic different?

There were a few things that stood out to us as being different. First, we relied on video tours for most of our showings instead of walking through the houses in person. In our case, this was also necessary as we lived out of state. Second, the market was really competitive so we had to move quickly when we found a place we liked. This meant that there were times where we had to put in offers while at work. Lastly, the closing process was done remotely to support social distancing. We signed most of the paperwork before we showed up on closing day. The rest of the paperwork was completed in a parking lot.

What hurdles did you encounter?

With us living out of state and the market moving quickly, we had to wait for our realtor, Ethan, to take videos and send them to us. Even though he would go the next day, there were times where offers would already be in on the properties. By the end of the process, we had put in offers on 8 houses.

Also, we found a house and negotiated a price with the sellers. After the inspection was completed, the seller's decided they no longer wanted to sell the property. Because of this, we had to negotiate terms with the sellers for the breach of contract. After the breach of contract, we ended up having to stay with family for a few weeks until we could close on our new house.

Did you have any unforeseen hiccups in the process?

We hired a moving company to pack up and deliver our goods. With the breach of contract by the seller's, we had to renegotiate the drop-off date with the moving company. We ended up with a different team performing the delivery because the team that loaded us was already booked. Luckily, we were able to avoid needing to pay storage fees but it was close. Another unforeseen challenge we encountered was the appraisal of the home came in under purchase price.

What surprised you about the process?

We were shocked by how fast the housing market was moving. We would see a house online that we liked and by next day there would be an offer on it. It also surprised us that so much of the closing process paperwork could be done remotely.

What was positive about the process?

The biggest positive for the process was our realtor, Ethan. He stood by us and guided us through the whole process. When the house fell through, he started looking for a new house for us right away and helped navigate the breach of contract. He was able to find us a house that was an even better fit for our family. We ended up finding the perfect house for us!

Did your agent do anything extra to help during this process?

Our realtor, Ethan, went above and beyond to make sure that we found the perfect house for our family. With being out of state, we relied heavily on video tours for being able to see the houses. We would find several houses online that we liked and would send them to Ethan. He then went out of his way to ensure that he was able to see the house and get us videos the next day. With the fast moving market, this was essential for us to be able to put in an offer in time.  Ethan was always there to support us anytime with offers and negotiating with the sellers.

Similar to the video tours, there were weeks where we would need to put in multiple offers. When we finally found that house, Ethan even helped us with finding a lender. We found this immensely helpful as we were still living in another state at the time.

As mentioned above, we ran into some challenges with seller's breaching contracts and appraisals coming in low. Ethan was there and walked us through each of these challenges as they arose. There is no way that we would be living in our dream house if not for Ethan. Even after closing, we have been able to reach out to him and get assistance. We really can't thank him enough for everything he did, and is still doing, for us!

We're so happy to welcome The Whipple Family back to Iowa!