Back at the beginning of the pandemic when the stock market tumbled and businesses closed, we weren’t sure exactly what to expect (though we did our best to offer our insights and predictions for homeowners, especially those who were interested in buying or selling property).
Lately, though, we’ve become cautiously optimistic (I even got my first vaccination a couple of weeks ago, which has certainly given me hope that COVID may be gone soon!), especially as the Pittsburgh real estate market seems to be red hot.
Many of the sellers we’ve worked with have managed to sell their homes in a matter of days.
Still, COVID’s presence demands we remain careful during every single interaction with clients, inspectors, appraisers, and everyone we cross paths with throughout the day.
5 Tips For Safely Selling Your Home During COVID
Here’s what you should know about selling your home in Pittsburgh during the COVID-19 pandemic:
1. Be mindful of open houses, but don’t ignore virtual opportunities to show your home.
As we’ve mentioned before, open houses have been largely unnecessary in recent months during the COVID pandemic, especially since most houses are selling within their first weekend on the market.
Of course, allowing people to physically come into your home creates some safety concerns. With that in mind, don’t forget about 3D walkthroughs and virtual tours. During 3D walkthroughs, we bring our camera equipment through your home to give potential buyers an up-close look at your home from their phone or computer. Our virtual tours are similar, but they add a human touch since Ted and I guide them through each room.
Both of these options have recently grown in popularity among our clients because they are safer alternatives to traditional open houses.
2. Offer safety kits to anyone who comes through. You may have seen photos of us equipped with masks, gloves, booties, and sanitization wipes. These are helpful for keeping everyone who comes into your home safe.
If you have anyone visiting, whether they be a realtor, inspector, appraiser, or potential buyer, keep a set of disposable, single-use safety supplies nearby to hand out to people who need them before they enter your home.
3. Keep your home clean and sanitized. It’s one thing to have your carpets professionally cleaned and the grout steam and scrubbed between your kitchen floor tiles, but it’s another thing altogether to ensure your doorknobs, light switches, faucets, and other high-touch surfaces remain sanitized!
Sanitize your home before and after visitors come into your home. This is especially important if you and your family are still living there while you’re actively showing the house.
4. Keep physical contact to a minimum during inspections, appraisals, tours, and closing. Even now, as more and more of the population throughout PA receives their COVID vaccines, you should do whatever you can to minimize contact with others.
Whenever possible, choose a virtual option or remove yourself from the area when others come into your home or you have a meeting. If necessary, your real estate agent can act as a proxy during inspections, appraisals, and tours—and you may be able to close on your house virtually.
5. Seize upon renovation opportunities. This is a seller’s market, to be sure, but you may sell your house for even more if you’re able to remodel before hammering the For Sale sign into your front yard (check out our blog on renovation mortgage opportunities).
This extra influx of cash could be especially helpful if you’ve taken any sort of financial hit during COVID as a result of a job loss or reduced hours. As long as the market continues to favor sellers, you could get some extra money out of your house by finally tackling those projects you’ve been putting off.
Get Into the Right Mindset
Selling your home during COVID may seem like you have an extra set of challenges to deal with, but remaining mindful of best practices and leaning on your real estate agent whenever necessary simplifies the process. When you step back and understand the best ways to remain safe, it becomes much easier.
Cheers,
Julie & Ted