Selling Homes Safely In The Age Of COVID-19

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Many people still need or want to buy or sell a home, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. For example, some bought homes some time ago, and need to sell their present home; others have sold their homes and need to buy a new one.

We have instituted 5 key measures to ensure that buying and selling real estate can be done safely at this time:

1. The property must be vacant – either no-one is living in the home, or the owners have moved out while their house is on the market.
2. Maximize virtual access – we are providing floor plans, video tours, 3D virtual tours, plenty of photos, and detailed descriptions of the homes we have for sale. This allows buyers to decide if the home is for them and whether they want to arrange a visit. In this way, in-person visits to the home are minimized.
3. We make it easy to view the home safely. Each morning, we turn on all the lights and make sure all the inside doors are open, so that the home can be viewed without touching anything. Then, at the end of the day, all the lights are turned off and the door knobs, key and lockbox are wiped down to make everything as sanitary as possible.
4. Visitors are screened before they can enter the home. Both at the time the viewing is booked, and again at the front door, we ask that both the agent and the buyers confirm that they have not traveled in the past 21 days; that they do not have any cold or flu symptoms and have not been around anyone who does; that they use hand sanitizer (which we provide) before viewing the home; and that they touch as little as possible while in the home.
5. Minimize the number of people in the home at once. For example, the buyer can view the home without their agent, and then they can change places so the agent can see it. That way, social distancing can be maintained.