In this edition of Beyond The Cupola, Brooke Ogletree – Personal Banker, shares her experience with first time homebuying and her excitement to be home for the holidays!
I think everyone reading this would agree with me that 2020 has been a difficult year. It brought uncertainty, change, and many new challenges, but as this year has gone by, I began to see how all of these things worked together for good.
After getting married in December 2019 my husband, Wyatt, and I were ready to hit the ground running in 2020! As the year progressed and COVID-19 swept across the nation, we still had no idea what was in store. Due to shutdowns, curfews, and shelter in place mandates, my husband encountered harsh cuts at work putting us and so many others in a tough situation. Soon after this transition, my Granny’s health took a turn for the worst; thankfully she went peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.
In early June, things began shifting into a new normal and Wyatt was able to shift back into his usual hours at work. Just when we felt like we had our feet on the ground, we received a call from our landlord saying though we had signed a two year lease, he was going to start showing the house to sell and was giving us 30 days’ notice to vacate. We immediately partnered with my mom, Nanette, who is a real estate agent and began searching for a house. With rates so low and the market booming, every house in our price range sold within 24-48 hours of being on the market. As time quickly passed us by, my Nana and Poppa came to us with a proposition. They were willing to allow us to rent my Granny’s house until we found a house we loved.
On August 1, we moved into Granny’s house and instantly knew that, with a few updates, this could be our forever home. After speaking with Nana & Poppa, they were overjoyed to be able to help us purchase our first house. Being an employee of Oconee State Bank, my first step was to email Jessica Roberts – VP Mortgage and see what we needed to do to get the ball rolling. Due to the pandemic partial layoff, Wyatt and I weren’t in the best financial situation, but Jessica didn’t turn us down AT ALL. Instead, she worked with us on a plan to get our finances and credit where we needed to be to make it all happen. Jessica and her team worked all hours of the day to make sure we were well-informed throughout the entire journey. For two newlyweds who didn’t know one thing about buying a house, Jessica explained everything to us making sure we completely understood the entire process.
Buying a home during COVID-19 did come with its own difficulties. With so many local and state offices running on shorter staffing and shorter hours than usual, there were multiple delays and push backs, but Jessica always did what was in our best interest! Finally, after what seemed like forever, on November 18, 2020 we CLOSED on our dream home! There are no words that can express the joy of living in my great grandmother’s house! Walking through my great grandfather’s barn, seeing the legacy that they left for us to pick up where they left off loving each other and building a life together, piece by piece. As we prepare to celebrate our first wedding anniversary and look forward to the year to come, we are so thankful for each person who played a HUGE part in helping us along the way in this unique yet magical season of life! Finally… we are home just in time for the holidays and many more holidays come!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
Brooke & Wyatt Ogletree
