Life as we once knew it has completely changed and businesses have needed to make some big adjustments. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, most people have been staying home as often as they can, and many businesses are open but have measures in place that protect you from contracting the virus, but if you are more comfortable … at least for the time being, you can actually buy on-line.

You can most definitely continue on in your home buying journey during these uncertain times. At Sterling Homes, we’ve made major changes to keep everyone safe, know that Sterling has your back.

One of the ways we can keep you safe is by offering the option to purchase a brand-new home completely online. Buying a home online may have been unheard of just a few months ago, but we think it’s going to become the new normal. 

Read on to learn more about this new process.

Shopping for a New Home Online

Before you can actually buy a home, you need to find the perfect home and at Sterling Homes we have other ways for you to tour available homes! One possibility is to have a personal video tour. In this scenario, one of our sales reps goes to the home and calls you for a video conference. You can then go on a “tour” with the rep. They’ll be able to zoom in on the details you want to see and answer any of your questions.

We also recognize that it’s hard to commit to such a big purchase without actually seeing the home in person. To accomplish this, we offer a few different options for you to tour the home privately. There are rules to follow for this – such as limiting the things in the home that you can touch – and homes are completely sanitized in between each viewing.

We also have our self-showing option, which allows you to make an appointment, take your tour, and head out without having to come into contact with anyone! 

Buying Your Sterling Home

Once you’ve decided on a home model you love, purchasing online couldn’t be easier. You simply navigate to the home on our site, then look for the “Love this Home? BUY NOW!” button. Before clicking on the link, pay attention to the “job number”. This is the number next to the name of the house.

When you click on the button, the process works basically like any other online purchase. All you have to do is put a $1,000 deposit. This is very similar to any other type of home purchase you’d make. That deposit “holds” the home for you so that no one else can buy it. 

Please note: this is not an option for every home listed on our site. We are working to get this process for all of them, so if you don’t see the Buy Now button on the model you’re looking at, please let us know!

Finalizing the Details

Once you’ve reserved the home, you still need to go through the same type of process you’d go through if you were buying a home in the traditional way. You need to get your mortgage approval and funding. Most banks now have processes for doing this completely online as well. 

The steps for this involve filling out the application and providing proof of income, such as a pay stub. 

At the end, we’ve implemented an online document signing process. You won’t have to meet in-person to finalize the details of your home purchase. It can all be done online. We’ll simply give you the keys in an agreed-upon way.

There’s no doubt that these times are weird, and we don’t yet know when we’ll be able to return to “normal”. However, you don’t have to worry about putting your family at risk. Our Area Managers are ready to help you safely buy your home online.

Photo credits: depositphotos.com