Dear Olivia,
My home is on the market, but I’m concerned about the spread of the coronavirus if people are coming to tour my house. Should I stop having showings? Any advice would be appreciated!
Sincerely,
Worried Seller
I think it’s safe to say that we’re all worried about coronavirus at this point. And being extra worried with your home for sale is certainly understandable.
The decision of whether or not to stop showings is solely up to you. You need to do what makes you most comfortable, and if that means ceasing showings, you should do it. The situation is already worrisome enough; you don’t need another layer of stress on top of that by worrying about what germs potential buyers may or may not have spread around your home.
Having said that, our office is taking precautionary measures when we show properties. We’re following the CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting. This includes:
- Cleaning any surfaces we touch (i.e., doorknobs, keys, light switches)
- Using disinfecting wipes or approved household cleaners
- Frequently using hand sanitizer
We’re also practicing common sense when it comes to germs. We’re covering our coughs and sneezes, washing hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds, and trying not to touch our faces. So far, all of us at the office feel fine and aren’t showing any symptoms of illness, but if that changes, we won’t come to the office and won’t meet with clients in person.
If you decide to keep your home open for showings, you can use the CDC guidelines to clean your home after each showing. Their instructions specify the products you can use that will disinfect and kill germs.
If you aren’t comfortable with in-person showings, remote showings are certainly a possibility. We provide our clients with services like virtual tours and narrated YouTube tours so people can see the entire house inside and out without actually being there.
Additionally, we use Facebook Live to give virtual open houses to interested parties. We are also happy to do a video call with individual buyers that might be interested in a property.
We’re fortunate that the real estate industry works so well with technology. We can show homes to buyers online, promote homes for sale using social media, and even conduct many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of a real estate transaction using email, video conferencing, and so forth.
We can use the power of all these tools to help ensure that real estate transactions continue to go as smoothly as possible, even in these uncertain times. Time will tell what this does to the real estate market, but for now, I would urge calm. Realtors throughout Fremont County still have many listings and many clients looking for homes to buy!
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Olivia