The coronavirus pandemic has thrown in wrench in the way we do a lot of things as a society. For the real estate industry, the biggest effect has been on the process through which we show properties to prospective buyers.
The increased risk of gathering in person has resulted in a heavy reliance on virtual showing methods, such as 3D tours, stellar listing photos, video tours, and live showings via video conferencing software. But in most cases, a buyer is eventually going to want to see your house in person before making such a big investment. So, how can you show your property in a way that prioritizes everybody’s health and safety?
Limit in-person showings to serious buyers only.
Under normal circumstances, there’s nothing wrong with casual property viewings for those buyers looking to start with just a gist of your home. During a pandemic, however, it is an unnecessary risk. Have your agent screen prospective buyers who are interested in a showing. Before you move forward, assure they have toured the property virtually and are truly interested, as well as prequalified to actually put in an offer.
Follow the CDC-recommended safety precautions and local guidelines.
When you do have an in-person showing, you should be taking every precaution possible to protect your, your buyers’, and your agent’s health. Limit the number of people in your house to just the prospective buyer and those that will be living with them, yourself, and your agent. In fact, if you’re comfortable, you can let your agent helm the showing without you to reduce that number even further.
Everyone should be wearing masks, social distancing (six feet apart) as much as possible, and washing or sanitizing their hands upon entry. It’s also a good idea to have everyone fill out and sign a COVID questionnaire affirming they’ve had no symptoms or known exposure. These questionnaires can also be used for contact tracing, if necessary. Email buyers scheduled for a showing ahead of time with a list of required precautions, so they can come prepared.
Clean and disinfect thoroughly before and after each showing.
Before and after each showing, everyone present should wash their hands with warm water and soap and/or use hand sanitizer to disinfect. You will also need to use disinfectant on frequently-touched surfaces, such as door knobs, countertops, appliances, electronics, etc. To minimize surface touching, open all interior doors, cabinets, closets, and turn on all light switches ahead of every showing.
With a designer home staging package from Stage2Go, preparing your home for virtual and in-person showings is easier than ever. Our furniture and décor packages are designed for DIY setup, so you can minimize the number of people in your home without sacrificing any quality in your presentation. Or, if you want our team to help, we use a safe, anti-viral, non-toxic compound called Steramine to “fog” the properties we stage. This leaves your property fully sanitized after we’ve set up and even through the first in-person showing.
Give us a call at 202-257-2072 to learn more about our sanitation process and order all the affordable home staging tools you need!
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