Selling your home is never an easy task, and in an era where leaving the said house is highly discouraged, it can be a monumental one to pull off. Earlier this week we discussed tips that could help you in selling your first house, and in this article, we will discuss how to do so in a COVID-19 world. Without further ado, here are five tips in selling your house that practices social distancing!
Virtual or video tour
It is understandable if the notion of having strangers tour your house seems almost taboo in this new world we live in. If you’re still determined to get the word out about your house, you can set up virtual tours with potential buyers, whether it’s through a video call or zoom meeting. Doing this live allows them to interact with you and ask any questions they might have. Another possibility would be to have a prerecorded video of you touring the house and talking to the camera, providing commentary on each room and floor. This provides an advantage if scheduling conflicts are an issue, and you’d be able to send this to all the buyers who have reached out.
Physical tours with limited participation
If having buyers over is still an option for you, perhaps limiting the number of people on the tour will go a long way. If you live with more than one person, pick a day nobody will be home or schedule a day to have none of them home except for you. Then have one person inside the house at a time to look around, and have hand sanitizer by the front door for them when they walk in. If you’re selling the house during the winter season, it’d be best to schedule these one-on-one tours so nobody waiting their turn has to stand outside in the cold.
Find an agent that takes the pandemic seriously
This one is self-explanatory. We talked at length on how finding the right agent for you is essential to house hunting in a previous article, and now finding one that honors COVID regulations is that next step. If social distancing is important to you, then it’ll be important to the right agent. If meeting in person is necessary, both should wear masks and meet in places that aren’t too crowded. Otherwise, zoom calls or facetime is always an option!
Keep a flexible schedule
Having a flexible schedule is almost a necessity when selling a home already. In a world of COVID-19, many people are going to be working less or working from home so many buyers will have more time on their hands and will most likely contact you at a time that would be inconvenient in a pre-COVID world, like say during work hours. Allowing yourself some leeway in time can help a long way in selling that house!
Don’t overprice
We’re not suggesting you should cut some corners when it comes to pricing. The house should still be sold for what it’s worth on the market. For many people, the money will be tight in this unprecedented season and pricing negotiations will be much more rigid than before. Because of this, not as many people are going to be house hunting, so selling your house is naturally going to be tougher. However, nobody on the market is desperate either, so it’s best not to raise your price higher than normal on the notion that houses for sale are more scarce.
