Happy Wednesday friends! If you follow me on Instagram you know that my family and I recently moved into our dream farm house two months ago. I get a lot of questions about our new home and process so I wanted to share FULL details about it today. If you are considering taking the plunge and moving out of the city OR maybe you are just wondering about the process of buying/selling during a pandemic, then this post is for you! I hope you enjoy learning about our experience.
Background Story
Ever since we moved into our small home in the city we knew we would eventually have to find something bigger. We moved out of our tiny downtown apartment after finding out we were pregnant with our first baby. He was a bit of surprise so we were not in a place to buy our “dream home” by any means. We were actually just looking for a house to rent while we continued to save to buy when my sweet friend Allise from Southern Homes Group reached out to me. At the time I thought buying was out of the question but she encouraged me to meet with her mortgage banker and see if we qualified for a loan. To our surprise we did! We set up a budget and started looking for houses. With the help of Allise and her partner Carrie, we quickly found our beautiful starter home! We went to see it on January 1st and were closing by the end of the month!
Fast forward three years later and another baby on the way- we knew it was time to start looking for a bigger home. We decided this well before the the pandemic started so we were shooting for Summer 2021 to move. We called Allise and Carrie and got the ball rolling. At the time we weren’t 100% sure how far out of the city we wanted to live. But then the pandemic hit and everything changed. Our first home quickly became our safe haven and we spent countless hours in the yard. Because of this we decided we would be completely fine with not being so close to the city, so our search for our farm house started.
Goodbye City Living
With the pandemic we confirmed that we were ready to expand our “farm” and learn to better thrive off our own land. That might sound cheesy but we just loved the idea of being less dependent of city living. We expressed our thoughts to Allise and Carrie and they started sending us listings that fit our descriptions.
A few months into our search, we stumbled across the listing to our new house. The photos were of it in the building stage so we honestly did not think much of it. We saved it and moved on. Well, the house kept coming down in price because no one was buying it so we decided to check it out. It fit our description- new build, one story, farm style with plenty of land. We called our team up and Carrie met us there.
To say it was love at first sight is an understatement. Yes it was far- one hour from downtown Atlanta (with no traffic) but it was exactly what we wanted. We immediately told Carrie we wanted to put an offer in.
Buying and Selling During a Pandemic
This was the top question everyone asked after we sold and bought our homes. Buying was super easy but selling was a wild ride. It was our first time so we definitely learned a lot. Since houses are hard to find right now, everything happened very fast. After being on the market for one week, we got our first offer. We accepted it but after a few days, the buyers backed out. After another week on the market, we received two offers in one day! We accepted one and moved on to due diligence. At this point we hit a few bumps with the home inspection but thanks to our team, we came to a middle ground with the buyer. We were honestly just so happy to be done showing the house!
The most important thing we learned from the whole process was how crucial it is to have a good selling team. Since Allise and Carrie work together, you get two agents for a the price of one. They both have their strengths and made everything happen.
New Home Details
As mentioned above, our house was a new build. A lot of people asked if we bought the land then built it but we did not. We were just very fortunate to find our dream home that happen to be brand new and not in subdivision with HOA restrictions. The house is on 2 acres which is plenty of room for us to expand our little farm. We plan to add another chicken coop and a green house to the yard. If you follow along on Instagram you can see all the progress we are making!
Ready to Buy or Sell: Is An Agent Worth It?
After buying a house twice and selling once, my opinion is- YES! It’s actually an absolute, 100%, you’d be crazy not to- YES! I have spoken to a few friends who did not use agents and they regretted it. Sure you save a little money but it’s just not worth it. One friend told me that because they didn’t use an agent they left money on the table by pricing their house too low. Another friend told me that they didn’t use an agent and had to spend countless hours researching the legal part of the selling process.
The amount of work our agents did for us has no price. Allise and Carrie truly went up to bat for us and made sure we had a great experience. Both times that we bought a house they made sure we got the best deal possible. They REALLY shined when it came to selling our house. Since it was our first time we had no idea what we were doing or what to expect. Throw in a pandemic and a new baby and things really got interesting! But Allise and Carrie took care of everything! They even told us that they do everything except pack our boxes! Ha! And as mentioned before, since they are a team you will always have a quick response and someone ready to help answer your questions. This is why if you are considering buying or selling anywhere in Atlanta (or outside of Atlanta), give them a call. Just tell them what your hoping to find and your timeline and they will take care of the rest. I cannot recommend them enough! You can contact them via Instagram, email (southernhomesgroup@gmail.com) or give them a call Allise at 850-559-4101.
I hope I answered everyones questions with this very long blog post. If I did not OR maybe you have a specific questions, please feel free to email me or ask in the caption below! Thanks for all your kind words and being so happy for us!
Xo,
The home is almost as beautiful as your family!!