The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we work, learn, and socialize, and it has also raised many questions about how to move forward with our lives.
If you were shopping for — or considering shopping for — a home before the pandemic hit, you may be asking yourself, “Should I buy a house during coronavirus?”
There’s not one answer that works for everyone, so here are our top 5 factors to weigh to determine if now is the right time for you to buy.
1. How are your finances?
It’s no newsflash that we are in tough times economically. The mid-May 2020 unemployment rate is at 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression, though economists warn that the real figure is actually much higher. If your employment has been impacted by the virus, this probably isn’t the right time for you to buy.
Even if you’ve escaped the economic fallout thus far, it’s important to take a hard, honest look at your financial situation before you buy a home.
Ask yourself these questions:
- How stable is your current company?
- How stable is your industry overall?
- Has your income been impacted, or do you anticipate it might become impacted down the line? What does your liquid savings look like?
- Do you have savings set aside to pay for the down payment and closing costs of your home purchase, in addition to an emergency fund to keep you afloat in the case of lost income?
If you feel confident in your ability to buy a home after answering those questions, then it’s a good sign that you’re ready to buy, pandemic or no pandemic.
If your employment is stable but you’re shopping for a home at the very top of your price range, you might want to consider scaling back.
Lenders are imposing mortgage overlays (additional qualification requirements), so if you’re set at shopping at the very top of your approval range, this may not be a good time to buy because it’s possible that overlays may reduce the size of your mortgage pre approval amount. On the other hand, if you can afford to spend more than you plan on spending, the overlays probably will not affect you.
If your credit score was at the low end of the approval range before the virus, now might not be the best time for you to buy. Because some lenders have raised their credit score requirements, Steere says that she has had a few buyers who have had to pause their house hunt while they work to raise their credit score.
2. How is the local market?
Every market is different, and some markets will be affected by the coronavirus more heavily than others. Some buyers may find great deals in their market right now, while other buyers may find the best deals a few months or a year down the road.
3. What’s your lifestyle look like?
The novel coronavirus can be extremely dangerous to those who contract it, so if you’re immunocompromised or someone in your household is, this might not be a good time to buy. Though real estate agents are taking every precaution to protect their clients, you may find it best to stay in your safe and secure environment until progress has been made to treat or prevent the virus.
On the other hand, if you or someone in your household is immunocompromised and you’re renting in an apartment building where you can see staff and residents ignoring social distancing standards — or the cleaning protocol in shared spaces isn’t up to snuff — then you might want to move forward with your plans to buy so you can have more control over your environment.
4. Can you accommodate delays and upheaval?
This isn’t a normal time to buy a house, and delays are almost inevitable.
It’s harder to shop for a house right now because some sellers, understandably, don’t want to open their homes for private tours. The virus has also impacted inspections and appraisals.
At the end of the day, the virus may have changed how we buy homes, but buying during the coronavirus is still completely possible—interested in getting 2% cashback on your purchase? visit beycome.com
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