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Home Buyers & Sellers

Home Selling Protocols During COVID-19

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Your home is your sanctuary, and keeping you and your family safe during your real estate journey is our first priority. Marketing effectively and pricing appropriately are the two most important things sellers can do during this pandemic to attract qualified buyers, maintain the health and safety of their families, get their homes sold quickly, and obtain the highest sale price possible.

With this in mind, I have outlined a number of processes and protocols that I use with my clients to effectively help them with the home selling process, and minimize the risks of selling during this pandemic.

Home Selling Processes ~ The New Normal:

Meetings:

In-person meetings are being minimized and often replaced with online, video and phone conversations. I am equipped with a variety of virtual meeting technologies, including Facetime, Google Meet, Skype and Zoom, to allow for easy and convenient communication with my clients and other parties.

Paperwork:

My clients can complete all of the necessary paperwork digitally, using processes that are user-friendly, efficient, and secure. In addition to the standard listing paperwork, sellers must also complete the COVID-19 Consent Form.

Entering Your Home:

The decision to allow or refuse me or my colleagues, tradespeople, buyer’s agents, and/or buyers to enter your home is one that is entirely up to you. We will discuss the risks, alternatives, and preventative measures when it comes to having others enter your home, and we will fully respect your choices. When it is necessary for others to enter your home, I am following the necessary safety procedures as instructed by public health officials.

Preparing Your Home For Market:

I have strong relationships with local vendors that are built on trust, experience, and integrity. All of the vendors I work with to prepare your home for market have implemented strict protocols to ensure the health and safety of my clients and themselves.

Staging:

Home stagers are offering virtual consultations with all of my clients, to help declutter and depersonalize so that buyers can envision themselves in their next dream home!

Photography & Video:

Comprehensive photography sessions are booked in order to produce professional photos and videos that will showcase your home in its best light, helping buyers to ‘experience’ your home from the safety of their own. Photography packages include full floorplans, 360 degree views of all rooms, and even an online measuring tool for buyers to measure spaces within each room online.

Professional video tours are also created to narrate and highlight the key features and benefits of the home, and to showcase the area amenities surrounding the home.

Marketing Your Home:

We have adapted our custom marketing plans to be digital-forward, in order to best showcase your home to buyers while maintaining the health, safety and confidence of your family, our team and the community.

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Protocols to Protect Home Sellers:

Disclosure Forms Signed by all Buyers and Buyer Agents:

Our Brokerage has created a COVID-19 disclosure form that requires signing by buyer agents and buyers prior to their viewing.  They are required to answer questions related to their current health and recent travel. These forms can be provided to you in advance of each viewing for your approval, or can be discussed if any concerns are noted on the forms.

Pre-Approved Buyers Only:

We ask buyer agent to only schedule property viewings for buyers who have obtained pre-approval from a lender. This limits viewings to only those who are qualified to purchase your home.

Review All Online Marketing Materials Before Scheduling a Viewing:

My listed properties have additional online marketing materials (e.g., floor plans, 360 degree images, video tours, etc.).  I ask buyer agents to provide and review all online marketing materials prior to scheduling an in-person viewing.

Prohibit Washroom Use:

We ask that buyers and their agents to not use your washroom facilities at your home. Fortunately, there are enough area businesses now open that buyers can utilize their facilities if need be.

Strict 30 Minute Timeframe and No Overlapping Viewings:

In order to ensure physical distancing at your home, overlapping viewings with multiple buyer agents and buyers are no longer allowed. As such, I allow strict 30 minute viewing times for buyers to minimize time in your homes, and to facilitate more viewings without the need for overlapping showing times.

Maximum of Three Visitors at One Viewings (Agent + 2 Buyers):

Again, in order to help facilitate physical distancing within your home and minimize any contact within your home, viewings are limited to one agent and two buyers. Children and non-buyer relatives are not allowed in your home. If buyers must bring children with them, one buyer can watch their children outside while the other buyer views the home. Once the first buyer has viewed, the buyer agent can then bring the other buyer through your home.

Masks and Gloves are Mandatory:

It is now mandatory for everyone to wear masks at all times inside homes while viewing them.  It is also essential to bring socks and wear them during property viewings.  If buyers do not have gloves, they may enter the home but not touch any surfaces. The buyer agent must wear sanitized gloves and shall minimize any surface contact within your home. I also advise my clients to leave lights on and interior doors open to minimize or eliminate the touching of any surfaces aside from their front door.

The processes and protocols for buying and selling Real Estate have certainly changed, but it is imperative to actively adjust to our ‘new normal’ and enhance the safety of our sellers.

If you are thinking about selling in the near future, feel free to reach out to me. I would be happy to share more of these resources with you, and explain how I can help you sell your home effectively, while minimizing the risks to you and your family.

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