You had decided that 2020 was the year that you’d sell your home, and then a global pandemic hit the world including the Seattle area — now what? Don’t panic. It’s still possible to get that SOLD sign up, even now, it just requires some extra organization and planning, and a clear strategy with your agent. Here are six tips to keep in mind to keep your stress levels in check and to stay on track.
Stage your home
The first tip for any home sale is getting it ready for the stage, and the Covid-19 situation is no exception. In fact, it might be more important than ever to get your home looking its best, so you can sell it quickly. Before you show your home, you want to transform it into an inviting place for everyone. Stagers may recommend that you revamp what you already have, especially now, moving furniture around, adding lighting, or swapping out existing art for neutral pieces.
Clean, clean, clean
Professional real estate agents recommend that sellers declutter and deep clean the inside of their homes before putting them on the market. This advice stands for selling a home any time of year, and especially now. After every showing, even if your agent is only in your home doing a virtual tour, disinfect all high-touch surfaces, like doorknobs.
Go digital
You’ll want to limit in-person showings to only serious potential buyers who have already seen your home virtually. That’s right, virtual meetings aren’t just for yoga, and work calls, in these days of a coronavirus lockdown, virtual is how you will reach potential buyers. Beyond an online listing, which you probably already have, you’ll need to work with your agent to prepare your virtual roadmap and script for your agent to show potential buyers around, and answer questions live on video. While it might require some extra coordination, the carefully-orchestrated virtual showing will be your top tool for marketing a house during coronavirus.
Organize important documents digitally
Other than virtual showings, you’ll want to prepare all of the information about your house so it’s digital too. You can create a file for interested buyers that contains all of the details that they might want about your home — data about inspections, warranties, repairs, and anything else as advised by your agent.
Take extra precautions for in-person showings
When you do find that serious buyer, they will want at least one look to make that final decision. Data from HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights for Q1 2020 shows that before the crisis, agents reported that only 5% of their transactions involved a buyer making an offer on a property sight-unseen, and only 30% of agents feel like sight-unseen transactions are on the rise in their markets. Keep these tips in mind for the in-person showing: Allow your agent to show your home to only one person at a time, keeping a distance of six feet apart. Ask the potential buyer to wash their hands or provide hand sanitizer at the door. You can even take it a step up by providing masks for everyone involved.
Use the extra time to declutter and get organized for your move
While your move-out date might be uncertain, that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for it now. It’s an ideal time for decluttering, which is at the top of the list of any detailed moving checklist. Start small, working from room to room. One place to begin might be the bathroom as you can likely finish it quickly, feel accomplished, and move on to the rest of your house. You can use boxes to sort everything into groups for keep, donate, toss, and later. The “later” box can be a box that goes into storage and helps you move along more quickly through everything in your home.
Our number one tip for sellers during this time is to be proactive and stay calm. Work with your agent to take the steps necessary to achieve your real estate goals, while keeping yourself and your family safe.
