Chesney Cross, and her husband, Ken, began hunting for a new home in the Knoxville, Tennessee-area just as the pandemic began upending the housing market.

After a year of searching, the couple were unable to find anything that fit their $250,000 budget.

“Everything was selling super quickly and above what we wanted to spend,” says Chesney, 33. “We couldn't find anything that wasn't a giant fixer-upper.”