According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, COVID-19 is squelching real estate deals all over Philadelphia as buyers back out and sellers get stuck. The home selling business in the state has been deemed non-essential which has agents, brokers, buyers, and sellers scrambling to keep the deals going while maintaining social distance. Finding a contractor or a home inspector has also turned into a challenge.
A single mother and nurse in her mid-30s could no longer afford her Delaware County house. So she took all the money she could scrape together for a security deposit and the first and last month’s rent for an apartment, and she put her house on the market. To help make ends meet, she needed the profits from her home sale, originally set to close April 6.
Two weeks ago, she lost her job. Last week, her buyer backed out. The buyer, a house flipper, worried that he wouldn’t be able to get renovations done because Gov. Tom Wolf ordered nearly everyone to stay home and businesses to close to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
Now, she’s stuck with a mortgage she can’t pay, an apartment she can’t afford, and stress over how she will cover groceries and her family’s other living expenses, said her Realtor, Brian Kane. She’s in a major financial bind,” he said. “She can’t get work. She needs the money, and now the sale isn’t happening.
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