Before the pandemic hit in 2018, a married pair of nurses began pondering a home purchase. Even so, the couple, still in their 20s, put a priority on their splashy destination wedding in Hawaii. Homebuying would have to wait until their wedding bills were paid.

COVID-19 took an exhausting toll on the couple, who worked in the same hospital. But it yielded one silver lining: major salary increases to rebuild their savings. Hence, this summer they could pursue home shopping in earnest.

“(O)ur small one-bedroom apartment ... felt like living in a shoebox. So we rushed out to buy one of the first houses we could afford, a little one-story rancher with a big price tag,” the husband says.

At this point, the couple admits to buyer’s remorse. Looking back, they wish they’d bought sooner, before the big run-up in home prices and mortgage rates. They also regret not being more choosy when selecting a house this summer.

“Frankly, we didn’t play our cards very well at all,” the husband allows.

Real estate pros have long advised homebuyers to exercise caution when making a property choice, especially when there are few homes on the market, as is the current case.

Selecting a home should be a careful, painstaking process. Your quality of life and sense of safety are greatly influenced by the neighborhood you choose. Picking an outlying suburb or rural area could cost you precious family time due to a lengthy commute. And your children could be adversely affected if you move to a community with subpar schools.

Merrill Ottwein, the co-owner of an independent real estate firm, doesn’t know the nurses in this example. Yet he offers a few general pointers for would-be owners who are highly motivated to quickly conclude a home purchase.

“Buying a home in a hurry could be a terrific decision if it gets you a dream place and prevents you from locking yourself into an expensive long-term lease. But it could be a lousy choice if you aren’t careful what you buy,” says Ottwein.

Niko Voutsinas, an agent for Redfin, the national real estate brokerage, says the urge to buy quickly is due in large measure to the dearth of inventory.

“Some buyers are cutting back on other expenses to up their housing budgets because they believe home prices are only going to increase. They’re nervous that the minute rates come down, a flood of competition will edge them out,” he says.

Here are a few pointers for homebuyers in a hurry:

-- Question whether a long commute would work for you.

Ottwein says it’s not unusual for some purchasers to accept a punishing commute to a distant community in order to buy a large house.

“Some people say they don’t care how far they must drive to get all the bells and whistles they want. But then they call us back six months or a year later to say they can’t stomach that killer commute anymore,” says Ottwein, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

How long a commute is too long? That depends on the buyers involved and the type of commute. For example, driving in heavy stop-and-start traffic can become far more tiring than doing so on a free-flowing highway.

“I would worry about any commute that’s over 50 minutes each way,” Ottwein says.

-- Proceed cautiously before buying a “fixer-upper.”

Ottwein urges buyers considering a property that needs major rehab work to obtain reliable estimates on the cost of restoring the place. To get a sense of potential repair costs, your home inspector can help with estimates and your real estate agent should be willing to help you arrange with contractors for bids.

Are you convinced you could handle the renovation work yourself?

If so, Ottwein recommends you do a reality check by canvassing friends who know you well. Ask them if they think this big do-it-yourself project would be a good option for you, both in terms of your skill level and available free time.

-- Select options early when buying in a new subdivision.

If you’re planning to buy a brand-new house, you’re likely to be faced with many trade-offs before your contract is written.

“For one package price, some builders give lump-sum allowances for anything ranging from lighting fixtures to appliances to landscaping to kitchen cabinets. Anything not included in that package will cost you extra money,” Ottwein says.

These choices should be made before the sales contract is written, but not under pressure from a hurried homebuilder or salesperson.

“To make genuinely solid selections, you may need to take weekend time or a day or two off work to explore the options,” Ottwein says.

Those who are indecisive at the outset may find they have to pay a premium price for options they later decide they want -- for example, for solid wood cabinets in the kitchen.

“Once your contract is signed, you have little leverage left in negotiating with the builder. So you’d better pick the right kitchen cabinets at the beginning,” Ottwein says.

New homebuyers on a tight budget may wish to defer those items that can be installed later with relative ease, such as landscaping upgrades or window treatments.

“Lock in early those choices that are part of the infrastructure. The other options can wait until you have the funds to put them in yourself,” Ottwein says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Stereotypically, millennials in the process of buying their first homes are spoiled and entitled, expecting that homeownership will come their way with minimal effort. But statistics tell a different story.

“Young buyers are debunking the lazy millennial myth by working harder during the homebuying process,” says Manny Garcia, a senior population scientist for Zillow, the national real estate firm.

Nearly half of all first-time buyers are millennials -- people born between 1981 and 1996. As Garcia says, they are very proactive when it comes to homebuying.

“They’re more likely to contact at least three real estate agents, and they’re more likely to make at least two offers on homes,” he says. What’s more, if they’re denied a mortgage the first time, they typically reapply elsewhere until they’re approved.

Why are millennials so likely to persevere to reach homeownership? One factor is that they’re highly motivated to escape their rental units due to high rents and the desire to be independent of landlords. Also, they’re in their prime childbearing years, when “nesting” is a priority.

Garcia describes millennials as a “massive generation,” noting they now outnumber their baby boomer parents’ generation. But the path to first-time homeownership for millennials is now more arduous than it was for their parents.

“Affordability is the greatest hurdle for first-time homebuyers. It now takes nearly 12 years for a typical first-time buyer to save up for a down payment, compared to nine years prior to the pandemic. Meanwhile, the typical monthly home payment has more than doubled in that time,” Garcia says.

Young adults still on the hunt for a first home are often envious of peers who managed to land a property when mortgage rates were much lower during the worst of the pandemic.

“They’re jealous of friends who had more buying power when rates were much better a few years ago,” says Dorcas Helfant, a past president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor).

Some wannabe owners are so frustrated by all the barriers to buying that they’ve given up in frustration. This is reflected in new numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association (mba.org), which reports that demand for home loans has fallen to a 27-year low.

“Prospective buyers remain on the sidelines due to low housing inventory and elevated mortgage rates,” says Joel Kan, an MBA economist.

Still, there are plenty of young adults who’ve dedicated themselves to buying a first property, no matter the barriers. Take the case of a married couple of 35-year-olds who just purchased a modest bungalow with a newly renovated kitchen and a large backyard deck in Idaho.

“We hated having to take a 7% mortgage, but we project that in the future, after rates eventually fall, we can refinance. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the pleasures of a real house rather than being stuck in a shoebox apartment,” the wife says.

Helfant doesn’t know the Idaho couple in this example. But she encourages those highly motivated to buy a property to take the first step and arrange an in-person meeting with a mortgage banker.

“Your goal at this original meeting is to get a good feel for your borrowing capacity so you’ll know how much you could afford to spend at current mortgage rates. Lenders will chat with you by phone, email or text. But you’ll get taken a lot more seriously if you make an appointment and show up at their office,” she says.

Due to high mortgage rates, many first-time buyers must temper their expectations. For instance, buyers who have been hoping for a two-car garage might have to accept a one-car garage or no garage at all. Likewise, they might need to accept a kitchen with flooring and countertops that need replacement.

“You can accept a property that needs cosmetic work such as painting or carpeting. But if you’re a busy, two-career couple, you should be very cautious about taking on a ‘fixer’ that would require extensive remodeling,” says Helfant, who co-owns six Coldwell Banker realty offices in Virginia.

Here are a few other pointers for buyers in pursuit of a fair deal:

-- Consider seller clutter an opportunity.

It’s not unusual for a property to hit the market in a cluttered condition -- a definite turnoff to most potential buyers.

But Helfant says sharp home shoppers realize it’s possible to get a fair deal on a cluttered home, assuming they’re capable of looking beyond the accumulations to the property’s inherent structure and floor plan.

“The idea is to picture the house as if it were vacant and then decide if it has the ‘good bones’ you’re looking for,” Helfant says.

-- Keep an open mind about unusual decors.

“Of course, people are free to paint their entire interior Pepto-Bismol pink. But they shouldn’t expect buyers to want their house if they do something that eccentric,” Helfant says.

Just like the cluttered house, the flamboyantly decorated house offers opportunity for people with vision to obtain a property for a very favorable price.

“People with the ability to see the potential in this type of a house can really find a diamond in the rough,” Helfant says.

-- Don’t automatically reject a place based on online images.

Like some attractive people, some good-looking homes are simply not photogenic. Or possibly the photographers who take their pictures don’t know how to portray houses well.

Either way, you could be the winner if you’re willing to visit a home that others won’t tour because of unfavorable photos.

“A wonderful and well-priced surprise could await you when you open the door of a house others have missed,” Helfant says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Since the pandemic started, countless homeowners have set aside a space in their property for a home office.

A Los Angeles couple -- a social worker married to a data management doctor -- put such a high priority on having a spacious home office that they converted their sizable master bedroom for this purpose, equipping it with desks, bookshelves, file cabinets and computer monitors. They also transformed a large closet in their living room into an additional space for private video calls.

As seniors, the pair are now building a custom home in Hawaii, where they intend to retire. That move will mean selling their L.A. property to streamline their lifestyles and finances. That’s why they’re now talking to real estate pros about how best to stage their home for sale.

Stacy Berman, who’s sold homes since 2002, doesn’t know the couple in this true story. But she says the owners would absolutely have to return the master bedroom to its original use to maximize their sale.

“Having a designated home office is appealing to buyers. But so is having a large master bedroom with its own private bathroom,” Berman says.

Granted, it’s important to buyers to have sufficient space for a dedicated home office. Still, most purchasers realize that a secondary bedroom can easily serve this purpose.

“Very few people have three or more kids anymore. So they’re happy to use a smaller bedroom as a home office,” Berman says.

Yet no matter the size of a dedicated home office, it must be staged as a clean and uncluttered space that can serve as a calm and efficient sanctuary, whether used for work, hobbies or online shopping.

“You want it to look like a well-organized executive office,” Berman says.

Here are a few pointers for home sellers:

-- Set aside ample time to declutter your home office.

“It’s very time-consuming to go through everything in a home office, so you must make it a priority,” says Laura Leist, author of “Eliminate Chaos: The 10-Step Process to Organize Your Home and Life.”

Despite our increasingly paperless society, Leist, who owns a professional organizing firm, says many sellers still face tremendous problems dealing with the stacks of paper, books and magazines that crowd their home offices.

“People don’t know how to make decisions about paper -- what to keep and what to toss out or put through the shredder,” says Leist, a former president of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (napo.net).

Why bother to do a major purge of your home office before putting your place up for sale? Because, as professional organizers note, the untidy look of a typical home office makes a place unappealing to potential buyers.

“People can’t picture themselves living in your house if it’s filled with clutter in any room, let alone the home office,” says Susan Pinsky, a veteran organizer and author of books on the topic.

-- Get serious about sifting through papers.

Many who work from home are troubled with containers brimming with unsorted papers. These include business reports, computer printouts, junk mail, utility bills, credit card statements and clippings from magazines and newspapers.

As it happens, few of the papers people keep prove valuable to them, says Pierrette Ashcroft, who leads a productivity consulting firm called Smart Productivity Solutions.

“More than 80% of the papers people save are never referred to again,” she says.

What’s more, a room chosen to serve as a home office is often not the only area where papers mount up.

“Home offices creep outward. Any horizontal spaces are at risk for clutter. For example, I often see papers stacked up on kitchen counters, a dining room table or a couch in the living room,” Ashcroft says.

As those involved in the purging process soon realize, it can take much more brainpower to sift through papers than other kinds of clutter.

“With papers, it’s one micro decision at a time. ... That’s because the papers might contain valuable items like the deed to your house or your passport,” he says.

One way to make decision-making go faster is to give yourself guidelines on what to save and what to toss.

For instance, small business owners might choose to keep all their receipts for tax-deductible expenses, like office equipment and supplies, but throw out those for clothing and food purchases.

-- Digitize many papers rather than filing them.

Many who work from home struggle to stay organized. But Ashcroft says filing all but the most important papers is usually a waste of time and energy.

She advises those trying to declutter a home office to scan many documents into a computer rather than trying to store them in filing cabinets.

“I’m practically paper-free in my own home office. I use a rapid scanner and can scan up to 200 papers in two minutes,” Ashcroft says.

-- Think through your book collections.

Many professionals, including those who don’t work from home, keep more reference books than they ever use, according to Ashcroft.

“People have an emotional attachment to books,” she says, noting that bulging bookshelves are often found throughout a home, not only in the home office.

Ashcroft advises sellers to remember that many books can now be quickly and easily downloaded onto an e-reader such as the Kindle.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)