Whether you have a home listed or are preparing to list your home for sale, I wanted to share some candid advice to help you successfully sell your home during these changing times.
You need to understand there will likely be fewer “live” showings happening. We expect more buyers will work with their REALTOR® to create short-lists of homes that very closely match their needs online in order to minimize the number of properties they view. This means that the showings that are requested for your property will be very serious buyers. This reinforces how important good professional photos are for all these first viewings online.
I continue to ask buyer agents if they or their clients have recently travelled or are feeling unwell, in which case you could potentially offer a virtual showing via Facetime or Duo.
Social distancing is easy for many showings, as showings are often done by one REALTOR® and one or two buyers at most.
I advise you to keep hand sanitizer at your front door for buyers and agents to access coming and going. As an additional precaution, it’s advisable to wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces and doorknobs after a showing has happened in your home.
Communication is necessary during this time. If you’re feeling unwell, please let your REALTOR® know. Similarly, if you are self-isolating because of travel or possible exposure, please let your REALTOR® know. In these cases, your agent can temporarily suspend showings on the listing and then reactivate it fully at the end of the 14 days or when you are fully recovered. This keeps your home in front of buyers online while ensuring everyone’s health and safety needs are met.
For those of you who may be concerned about signing documents with your lawyer. In Alberta, final documents have up until this time been required to be done in person. We reached out to the legal community and have learned that remote signing options may be coming here soon, as Ontario has done. I have lawyer referrals who are willing to come to your home and sign through your patio door, or have offices using a vestibule as a signing space with no contact. There are options to keep safe while keeping documentation up to date.
If you have recently sold a property and possession is in the near future, we suggest you reach out to your lawyer to make an appointment sooner rather than later to avoid any potential delays.
Title insurance companies are also working closely with the legal profession to cover any potential closing of the Land Titles Office, to ensure closings can still take place even if RPRs or other documentation can’t be done due to closures.
If You Are Preparing to List Your Home
If you are thinking of listing, now is the time to connect with me. If you are thinking of selling during covid-19, I can manage your pricing evaluation, and most details of listing your home via phone, video calls and emails. We can have everything in place to list your home so that all the buyers stuck at home can include your home in their online search. If you aren’t comfortable listing your home now, let’s get everything completed and ready so you can list quickly once you are ready. I’d hate for you to experience delays because our photographers, interior designs, measurement companies get overbooked with the flood of listings that are expected as soon as things calm down.
Many changes are happening for buyers. Buyers are losing jobs and needing to liquify their homes and move to something more manageable for their income. Buyers stuck in self isolation are going to learn quickly if they are tired of renting and not being able to change their wall color. Buyers are finding how very small their home is and will looking for a future home that is better to self isolate in. The buyers are going to figure out the shortfalls of where they live…and then they’ll be looking. Make sure your home is on the market for those buyers.
Do you have other questions?
I’m happy to chat with you about your current situation and help you develop the plan that works best for your unique situation. Whether you are selling during Covid, let’s get you moving!
