A couple of weeks ago, Emanuele bought his dream flat in Edinburgh, unaware of just how serious the COVID-19 outbreak in Scotland was about to become.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks later and he says: "It's too early to say if I would do it again" after discovering that buying a house during the coronavirus pandemic is less than ideal.
Emanuele told Edinburgh Live how his purchase is delayed, due to not being able to complete the relevant paperwork, as his solicitor's office had to close.
Emanuele is also concerned that he could potentially end up homeless, as he has given notice on his flat, but his move-in date is now delayed.
He said: "I have already given notice on my current flat, which I'm renting- so I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen.
"If we do have to push the date of entry back. I imagine because evictions have been temporarily banned I would be fine.
"I really like the house I am buying, so if i get it now or in three months, I'll be pleased."
Despite the less than ideal buying conditions that many like Emanuele in Edinburgh will face, ESPC say the Edinburgh property market is still very much booming.
According to ESPC: "In the last couple of weeks, despite the new restrictions on daily lives, ESPC agents continue to report cases of buyers paying in excess of the Home Report valuation for a house or flat along with many properties going to closing dates.
"This indicates buyers are keen to secure property purchases despite the COVID-19 outbreak."
Tzana Webster, Sales and Marketing Manager at Warners LLP spoke to Edinburgh Live to confirm that despite the lock down, the Edinburgh property market is still very much thriving.
She said: "With the nationwide lockdown preventing in-person appointments, firms are taking to doing things virtually with Facetime calls, WhatsApp calls and Zoom meeting appointments."
"I recently had a client send me video clips that she took from a walk-through she did on her own home and I was able to stitch these together using a movie-app on computer system to create a slightly different virtual property viewing experience.
"We have uploaded her video to the Warners YouTube channel and have published this to all of the property web portals
"We don’t have the answers as to when this will be over and what the market will do when we come out of this, but it’s been proven time and time again that Edinburgh is a remarkably resilient market."
