Are you considering purchasing a new home before the end of the year? If so, do you have a location, type of residence, and price range in mind?
If so, the next step is to consult an online real-estate platform like https://www.movoto.com/ for properties that are on the market in Chicago that are within your price range.
If you haven’t decided on a location, house type, and price range, you must decide on these boundaries before you start looking online. They will narrow the number of available properties down to fit your parameters; otherwise, the total number of homes for sale will be unmanageable.
Buying a new home in the Post-COVID-19 era
To say that 2020 has been an extremely challenging year is not much of an overstatement. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe with a vengeance. It destroyed the world’s economy as well as the national and federal healthcare systems in its wake. Most countries had to implement hard lockdowns to prevent it’s spread through vulnerable communities. All non-essential businesses were closed with employees furloughed or laid off.
To counteract the loss of income, the US federal government implemented several COVID-19 response acts like the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – or the CARES Act that provided over $US2 trillion in emergency aid to both individuals and businesses.
Fast forward to the last quarter of 2020:
Even though most of the world’s economies are open again, and people are allowed to move around and go back to work, the virus continues to sweep across the globe. The only difference between the current circumstances and earlier this year is that fatalities’ rate seems to have dropped. And the reality is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not going to go away for the foreseeable future. Therefore, global residents are coming to the terms that life must go on despite the pandemic.
At this juncture, it is critical to note that state, national, and federal governments have implemented social distancing rules and the wearing of masks to control the virus’s spread. Even though the number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 seems to have considerably dropped, the infection rates are continuing to climb unabated. This seems to indicate that the virus has increased in its infectious capability. Therefore, it is essential to follow the guidelines set out by the authorities.
Part of getting back to normal despite the virus is looking at buying a new property should you want to or need to. Here are several tips to help you find the house of your dreams:
1. Decide on the type of home, location, and price range
As highlighted at the outset of this discussion, it is imperative to determine your maximum price range, the type of home you need, the purchase purpose, and the location or where you would like to live.
These decisions put boundaries or caps on the residences you can consider. It does not help looking at a $1.7 million home in the Chicago Loop, the most expensive zip code in Chicago, when you can only afford a $200 000 condo or apartment.
It is worth being cognizant that the reason why you are purchasing a home is exceptionally relevant to this discussion. If you are looking for an investment property that you can let out, you need to find a property that will return the best value for money. If you have a growing family and need a home with yard space and access to good schools, you must consider properties that fall in this category.
2. Consult with a reputable, reliable real estate broker
Buying a home can be a complicated, frustrating process with points where it might be easier to back out of the sale than push forward to the closing date. A reliable, competent real estate agent will play a pivot role in determining whether the purchase process is manageable or a nightmare.
Moving to a new home ranks in the top twenty-five most stressful life events on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale. Consequently, it is essential to choose a real estate broker carefully because your agent should manage most of the different processes from signing the purchase offer, the legal documents, and assisting with all of the fine details right up to closing.
3. Be mindful of the area’s COVID-19 restrictions
This point is especially valid when buying a home from a person with comorbidities and has a high-risk of being extremely ill if they contract the virus. It makes sense that you will be keen to view the home with a physical walk-through as soon as possible. Additionally, both the agent and the seller will be eager for you to view the house because it is one step closer to the conclusion of the sale.
However, there are other options like video conferencing with both the homeowner and the agent. You’ll soon see whether a particular home is worth purchasing with a live video walk-through using an app like Zoom or WhatsApp. If you are interested in buying the property, then you can arrange a live walk-through.
Final thoughts
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has added a level of frustrating complexities to our daily lives. However, it is entirely possible to buy a new home at this time. The process might be slower, trying to juggle everyone’s health requirements. But this is part of the new normal and will be for the foreseeable future.
