I Bought a Home During the Pandemic and Am Now Selling: 4 Lessons I’ve Learned
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Many Americans who purchased homes during the pandemic are now regretting these choices, a recent Opendoor survey found. According to the survey of 1,000 first-time home sellers who sold or listed in the past year, 91% said pandemic-era mistakes influenced them to sell. Younger Americans were more likely to have made a pandemic-era homebuying mistake, with 86% of millennial and 94% of Gen Z first-time sellers stating that this was their motivation to sell.
Gen Z’s top missteps were buying too soon (35%) and moving without considering long-term lifestyle fit (40%). For millennials, finance-related mistakes were most common — 37% underestimated maintenance costs and 31% overlooked inflation and interest rates.
However, other sellers who bought homes during the pandemic never planned to stay in their homes for the long term. According to the survey, 27% of Gen Z sellers saw their first home purchase as a stepping stone.
Such was the case for Angel Mosley, a 36-year-old mom who purchased her first home during the pandemic and is now selling. Here’s why she’s selling, plus, the lessons she’s learned as a first-time buyer and now seller.
Lifestyle Changes Inspired Her To Sell
According to the survey, the most common reason millennials are selling their homes is due to major lifestyle transitions, with 30% stating that this is why they are selling. Mosley fits into this category.
“I am happy for the journey that I was able to experience with being a first-time homebuyer; however, throughout this journey my family grew from a family of three to five,” she said. “We quickly outgrew our home, especially when it came to space and bathrooms. It worked for us at the time, but it didn’t fit our future needs. Feeling cramped, we knew it was time to move.”
Mosley searched for a home that better fits her family as it is now.
“In our next purchase, I considered a home that allowed for more flexibility,” she said. “Not every home is a forever home, and that’s OK. What matters is finding the right fit for the stage of life you’re in — and being ready to adapt when it’s time for the next chapter.”
What She’s Learned About the Homebuying Process
Mosley is now a homebuyer for the second time, so she is putting to use the lessons she learned the first time around.
“The first lesson learned when buying a home is to always get a home inspection,” she said. “Getting an inspection will help minimize any issues that may arise and can still be addressed with the current owners. It also allows you to decide whether you want to take on the property and all that it may come with.”
Mosley has also learned that a home is a purchase that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“When buying a home, you want to be intentional about your investment,” she said. “This is a huge life commitment, so you want to be sure you are purchasing a home you can be happy with for at least the next five to 10 years.”
What She’s Learned as a First-Time Seller
Although she has purchased a home before, Mosley is now going through the selling process for the first time.
“As first-time home sellers, we didn’t realize how much work our home needed before listing — painting, cabinets, windows — it was a lot,” she said. “Plus, we couldn’t risk last-minute buyer fallout or deal with the stress of timing our move perfectly.”
Using a platform like Opendoor, which provides sellers with a cash offer for their homes right away, helped alleviate some of the stress of the selling process, Mosley said.
“Once we signed, it was a done deal — no uncertainty, no emotional rollercoaster,” she said. “For busy families like ours, especially working parents in a big life transition, Opendoor made the process easy. The move to our new home was completely seamless.”
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