If you’ve listed a home for sale, you know it’s typically ideal for a homeowner to occupy their home while it’s being shown, and if that’s not possible, to have it staged with furniture and home decor. This conventional wisdom among real estate professionals is that a furnished home helps potential buyers appreciate the livability of the space and envision themselves living there. However, these are unconventional times.
We currently have multiple listings that are unoccupied, making them ideal for showings that adhere to state guidelines for social distancing as well as our own protocol. While we are trying to limit in-person showings as much as possible, we are finding that many real estate agents and potential buyers appreciate the opportunity to tour a vacant, un-staged home right now.
Here is the protocol we are following during the COVID-19 pandemic for all in-person showings:
- Our team is wearing masks, gloves and booties during all showings, whether the home is occupied or not, and keeping a physical distance of at least six feet from others.
- We are asking agents and their potential buyers to wear masks, gloves and booties during showings, and keep a physical distance of a least six feet feet from others.
- Prior to showing homes that are currently occupied, we turn on all lights and open all doors to reduce physical contact as much as possible with hard surfaces like light switches, door knobs and garage door openers.
Whether a home for sale is occupied or not, we are encouraging agents and buyers to initially vet properties they’re interested in online as much as possible to reduce unnecessary social contact. For listed properties that are owner-occupied, we are asking our sellers to be open to providing informal video tours of their homes to agents and potential buyers. Our team is also happy to provide video walk-throughs of our listings to agents and buyers.
We hope our approach to showings reassures you that we are doing everything possible to keep you, our clients and our team safe while also facilitating your real estate goals. If you’ve researched a property online and are interested in scheduling a virtual or in-person showing, please contact us.
