Are you wondering how to sell a home during Covid-19?
Real estate is an essential service right now amongst Covid-19, but many are curious how our industry is changing. If you were considering listing your home this Spring or selling at some point in 2020 you might have had your plans a little rocked by this un-welcomed virus. Let me tell you though – there are still ways to sell your home during Covid-19 and today, I am going to answer the question: How to sell a home during Covid-19. Safety is of course the biggest concern for any homeowners. Let’s walk you through how to sell your home and how the industry has changed.
**Rules, regulations and best practices vary by County and City. Reach out directly to learn restrictions as they change for the most updated information.
How do you sell a home during Covid-19?
Because Buyers may not be able to view your home in person before writing an offer it is essential to have your property marketed in great detail and precision to attain your goal of selling. Before coming to market, we will want to get photos of your home, virtual media such as video and/or a 3D tour and measurements of each room. Having more information and media to share with Buyers is **key** to getting your home sold and getting it sold FAST!
We may even decide to get some inspections upfront and take care of some repairs to make your home more marketable. This may have not been common practice a few weeks ago, but it may make the most sense to ensure your home gets sold in this shifting market.
Completing disclosures upfront and pre-opening escrow are also necessary steps to start in advance so that we have documents needed for the transaction upfront and to prevent any hiccups.
Will I be able to have an open house during Covid-19?
When your home goes live we will make sure to keep a log of any and every agent and potential buyer that reaches out about your property. It’s key to follow up and communicating with each of these parties to secure options for multiple offers.
Gone are the days of open houses and many potential buyers coming through a property. With our virtual tours and media we will promote and market your home through social media to get it in front of as many agents and buyers as possible. We will mail to your neighbors rather than door knocking to let them know that your home is for sale – they might have a friend that would love to live in their neighborhood! Sellers aren’t seeming to mind not having to leave their home or leave for a weekend while open houses are taking place. Virtual tours have really made selling more convenient. Would buyers agree? I don’t know, but hopefully the new norm in real estate is that photos will never be enough anymore.
If your property is able to be viewed in person safety measures and best practices amongst the National and California Association of Realtors have been put in place around number of parties to view a property at a time, disinfecting a home and maintaining social distancing. Buyers are advised to not touch anything, to wear face masks, cover their shoes and only enter the property with an agent and one other person they have been quarantining with. It’s advisable to disinfect a property following each showing weather or not someone is living in the space.
Do inspections and appraisals take place during Covid-19?
When it comes to inspections and appraisals, safety is being taken into consideration just like a showing. We are even seeing some appraisals done without entering the property.
Title companies and recordings are all taking place and mobile notaries can come direct to clients (use safety precautions) and get a transaction completed.
Luckily besides a mobile notary most all other paperwork can be completed digitally. We can review documents and walk you through disclosures via Zoom.
Where do we go from here?
Time will tell what happens with the real estate market. You may be interested in my recent post COVID-19 Real Estate Market to learn how this affects buyers and sellers. Take a look, and reach out if you have any specific questions!
