The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more challenging on home sellers. However, you can still effectively sell your home during the crisis with the right planning in advance. The following are useful home selling tips during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Market Your Home Differently
Fewer people are leaving their homes during the coronavirus outbreak. This means marketing your home through offline advertisements is not as viable of an option. Instead, home buyers are relying more on online home listings.
To give yourself the best chance at selling your home fast, you should ensure your home listing is optimized appropriately. Be sure to spend extra time identifying the most noteworthy features of the home and highlight them in your listing. For example, a home that is in the middle of the city may have a better walk score. If your home is in a good school district, then marketing your home to families and selling the great school system could be effective.
Utilize Virtual Tours
One of the most useful strategies in the home selling process for home sellers and listing agents are home tours. Unfortunately, the use of home showings to prospective buyers has reduced due to the COVID-19 crisis. Open houses are even rarer.
The good news is there is still a way to show your home to prospective buyers, which can be done through virtual tours. Virtual tours give the home seller (or listing agent) and the buyer (or buying agent) the opportunity to get together safely through virtual telecommunication platforms and discuss details of the home and see all areas of the home.
Wear PPE for Home Showings
The COVID-19 crisis does not mean you cannot show homes anymore. While being more flexible and offering virtual tours is a great way to help prospective buyers feel more comfortable during the process, the fact is most want to see the property in person before purchasing.
When the prospect is very interested and wants to see the home in person, you can show the home safely with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), in addition to maintaining a social distance of six feet or more.
Consider a Remote Closing
You may be able to have a remote closing, which allows the buyer, seller and lender to all feel more comfortable. If any of the involved parties are concerned or at an increased risk of serious symptoms of the coronavirus, then proposing the option of a remote closing is a great way to deal with the concern.
More than 20 states allow for remote online notarization, which involves the use of a remote notary and electronic documents. A mobile notary may be an option as well. Be sure to check your state laws to see if a remote closing is possible.
The Bottom Line
The COVID-19 crisis does not have to hold you back from selling or buying a home. Through minor alterations in your marketing strategy, the utilization of virtual tours and a potential remote closing, you can make the process of home selling safe and convenient during the coronavirus pandemic.
EXIT Realty Bob Lamb & Associates is Murfreesboro’s most innovative real estate team.
EXIT Realty Bob Lamb & Associates
2630 Memorial Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37129
(615) 896-5656