Whether you listed your home before the pandemic, or have decided to list despite the circumstances, you’ve picked a great time to sell! While the selling process isn’t as streamlined as it typically is, low inventory and uncertain sellers mean that your house will stand out in the market for those buyers still looking. Let’s take a look at some selling tips during quarantine.
Traditional open houses are out
Keep you and your family safe by foregoing an open house. Some sellers don’t have the option to have an open house with shelter-in-place orders in effect, but even if it’s a possibility, it’s not a wise one. Marketing a home during coronavirus takes a little more work, and agents across the country are responding in-kind.
With in-person open houses off the table, agents are now conducting virtual open houses via teleconferencing apps like Zoom. The beauty of the virtual tour is that as many as ten or more people can tour your house with your agent, asking questions along the way. So, while you aren’t physically getting foot traffic through your home, you are still able to get eyes on your house’s best features.
Create a video tour
Another way sellers and agents are working together to creatively market homes is by creating video tours of their houses. Work with your agent to film a walkthrough of your home. This provides buyers with more than static photos of your home, allowing them to determine whether they wish to reach out to your agent to schedule a showing. The more you can provide on the front end, especially capturing your home visually, the higher the likelihood of catching a prospective buyer’s eye.
Establish expectations
One of the best tips for selling your home during coronavirus is to set expectations and procedures for showings before your agent books the first tour. Again, your aim is to sell your home and keep you and your family safe and healthy during this time.
Will you require everyone to remove their shoes as they enter your home? If you have sanitizing products placed out, do you have specific instructions for use? For example, you may instruct agents to disinfect door handles after touching and have everyone thoroughly wash their hands as soon as they enter your home. The most important thing is that you set the expectations beforehand and clearly communicate them through written instructions as well.
Clean, clean, and clean again
Typically, this would refer to having your home show-ready at all times, with cleaning being of the utmost importance. With coronavirus, however, cleaning as much as possible applies to sanitizing your home. You can’t be too safe, so even with showing guidelines in place, make sure you take the time to sanitize after agents and buyers tour your home.
Tackle door handles, light switches, countertop areas, and disinfect the entryway floor. While it may seem overboard, it will actually go a long way towards keeping your family safe during the selling process.
Try to complete paperwork virtually
Once you have an interested buyer, again try to limit contact with your agent and others by using teleconferences to negotiate terms and esigning for contracts. Again, the aim is to keep all person-to-person contact to a minimum. Once you have a deal on your home, talk to your agent about the possibility of a remote closing. Your agent will know whether remote notarization and other options are allowed locally.
The landscape has definitely changed, but just remember, this is a perfect time to sell. And while the extra measures and precautions may seem exhausting, the reality is that they’re in place to keep everyone safe and to ensure that your home sale can proceed without the need to postpone.
