Merrimack Valley Magazine

In Which Our Writer Buys His First Home

In the previous edition of Home Beat, I chronicled difficult experiences I encountered while house hunting during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. My partner and I had been searching for nearly six months by the time that column was published. A global crisis was not enough, however, to keep us from our goal of home ownership. Don’t mistake our stubbornness for lack of caution. We focused on virtual tours, vacant homes, and other means to ensure our safety and the safety of others through this entire process.

The last column concluded with uncertainty. The stress inflicted upon us was caused by a sour combination. We were first-time homebuyers in Massachusetts (a notoriously unfriendly space for our ilk), trying to relocate during a global pandemic that thinned the competition but inspired some purchasers to be especially motivated.

After entering a bidding war for a home in Westford earlier this year, we were crushed to learn that our offer was second best. We had started to imagine ourselves sitting on the home’s large wooden porch and watching the sun beam down on the babbling brook nearby. Unfortunately, we were forced to forget the narrative we wrote in our heads and begin working on a new one.

It’s no wonder my partner was skeptical the next weekend when I planned a private showing at a vacant home in Haverhill. The night before the tour, she looked at me: “Do you really want to go tomorrow, Tyler? Perhaps we should take a weekend off.” Despite her plea, we knew it was too late to cancel, so we prepared to journey from Wellfleet to Haverhill.

After a long car ride, we arrived at the three-family home. At first, it seemed unusual. It was a light shade of yellow, and the siding curved into a roof that was smaller than the building’s base (think Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wearing a children’s baseball cap). The listing agent opened the door for us and we stepped inside, reservations in tow.

Home Beat columnist Tyler McMillan and his fiancee, Martha Robertson, bought their first home together during the pandemic. Because of safety precautions, home buying was even more stressful than usual. However, when the deal was done, the pair had purchased a home in Haverhill and launched a new journey as well, becoming landlords in the process. And now, the work begins (bottom right).

The floors were glossy hardwood, the living room ceiling stretched 10 feet above the floor, and the kitchen was nicely updated with luxury vinyl floors and a tile backsplash. Our skepticism quickly morphed into enthusiasm.

We still had a lot of work ahead of us, including making an accepted offer. Something was different about this property, and we felt surrounded by an aura of good fortune. Our offer was sent two days after our private showing and accepted the next day. The home inspection, a fear-inducing event for every buyer, concluded with the inspectors informing us that we had found a “complete gem.”

Was that how it was always supposed to work out? Were we fated to stumble upon our first property instead of tactically targeting the perfect dream home on the internet? Either way, a global pandemic was not enough to stop us.

Weeks after our home inspection, the Federal Housing Administration appraisal was approved and the bank sent us the glorious “clear to close,” almost ensuring our successful purchase (unless we decided to buy a car the day before our closing — but that’s a different story). We closed on our new home on Friday, July 17, prompting a celebratory dance session for hours after the paperwork was filed. Now we begin our journey as homeowners and landlords, so there are sure to be many twists and turns in our future. For starters, I will begin queuing the amateur plumbing videos and prepare for a trip to the hardware store.

Before the entire country was frozen by the global pandemic, my fiancee and I were preapproved to buy our first home. While many New Englanders were beginning to hunker down, we were braving vacant homes, some of which have been victimized by mold and water damage. As if the emotions of being a first-time homebuyer weren’t enough to manage, we resolved to continue our search (safely) as the pandemic hit.

Our priority is safety, both our own and that of the seller. To ensure this, my fiancee and I share a few core tenets that every quarantine-era homebuyer should consider:

Before deciding to see a home in person, see if a video tour is available.
Adopt a strong preference for vacant properties.
If a home is occupied, wear masks and gloves to the private showing.
Only go see a house if you are prepared (or eligible) to make an offer.

Gone are the days of attending packed open showings solely to snoop on a “cool house” or to gauge personal tastes for our future domicile. Now, our search has become much more focused, which has made the process simpler. Our guiding principles are utilitarian, and our scrutiny of online photos and virtual tours has increased dramatically. I expect many buyers are now limiting their exposure through similar means.

I work for a high-producing real estate team and have assisted on dozens of transactions, yet I was shocked at how challenging this process is. We officially began our search in November, and now, months later, we haven’t made it past the first step.

There have been close calls along the way. A few months before writing this, we made an offer on a three-unit home in Lowell. We were ecstatic! After all, it made a lot of sense financially, and my fiancee comes from a lineage of landlords in Boston. Ultimately, however, our hopes were squashed by the dreaded home inspection, a classic end to the dreams of many homebuyers with financing plans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA loans can only be approved if a property meets highly demanding standards of condition). The everlasting search continued.

The emotion we are currently experiencing, more than any other, is loss. Times are tough for first-time homebuyers. We are outbid on many properties that we fall in love with. When we walk into a building, we allow ourselves to start creating a narrative. We look at empty kitchen counters and imagine them piled with food with our friends sitting nearby. Future conversations echo through the empty family room, and my fiancee and I picture our nighttime rituals while puttering through the master bedroom. Then, after all the deliberation and storytelling, after all the paperwork and planning, our work proves to be futile.

Despite the frustration, we are thankful for this experience. For one, this home search has naturally spurred some important conversations. Where do we want to live? Closer to her work or mine? Do we invest in enough space for future children? These questions, while not always easy, solidify a deeper understanding of my relationship with my partner.

In a time of uncertainty for the world, we are seeking to answer a life-changing question: Where will we begin our new family? Stay tuned for my follow-up in the September/October issue of mvm, when I just might have an answer.

Home Beat: A Gem in Haverhill

In Which Our Writer Buys His First Home

Home Beat – First-Time Homebuying, Quarantine Style

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