Pre-Corona we used to have these events called open houses on Sundays and sometimes on Saturdays. Neighbors would come to checkout new listings, most often to see what the sellers had done to their homes and compare with their own. They came to get a sense of value for neighborhood values, to get ideas and sometimes to interview the listing agents because they were interested in selling. All kinds of buyers would come through too, some serious, others just looky loos or people still dreaming about being able to buy a home.
When a house was ‘hot’ it would be packed with people. They would open drawers and cabinets and peek into closets, essentially kicking the tires of the home. Social distancing was unheard of and there were no masks. Nobody washed their hands when they entered, although a few forward thinkers carried hand sanitizers. During our brokers opens we would set out food for the visiting brokers and sometimes their buyers would visit. We knew a house was going to go quickly when we had buyers visit during brokers opens.
When you wanted to see a house you could always just show up at a brokers open or a weekend open house. Those days are gone and they’ve been replaced with procedures, paperwork and virtual tours. If you want to see a house now, buyers, sellers and both agents have to sign a PEAD: the Coronavirus Property Entry and Advisory Declaration. That started on April 20th. Before that came out I made my own hold harmless document for buyers, sellers and agents to sign because it seemed like we needed some kind of disclosure and advise.
The California Association of Realtors took things a step further yesterday and came up with the COVID-19 Prevention Plan. It’s not just another piece of paper everyone needs to sign. The plan itself needs to be posted at the entrance of properties. It’s taken the PEAD several steps further. With the PEAD we all needed to wear gloves, masks and booties. We wear booties because you might have stepped in COVID and we don’t want you trampling it into the house like kids whose shoes are caked in mud.
Now a listing agent needs to show up to the property prior to any showing and open doors and windows to let air come through. They need to meet the agent and the buyers to ensure compliance with the plan. There can be no more than two buyers and one Realtor in the house at one time, which is a carry over from the PEAD. Before going in the Realtor and buyers need to use hand sanitizer on their gloves or hands. If there is no hand sanitizer they need to go to the nearest sink and you guessed it, wash their hands for 20 seconds. Nobody is supposed to touch anything but if they do they are supposed to use wipes. After a showing the listing agent needs go in and wipe down all commonly touched surfaces.
Yesterday an agent showed my listing on Atherton Avenue in Novato. The buyers brought their own booties, but I had to provide their agent with them. I also gave them Clorox wipes and instructed them to wipe down anything they touched. I suppose I could have waited in my car for the 30 minutes they were on the property, but there is a nice side street nearby with a gentle slope and I rode my skateboard for a while. We are in Marin County after all, and I grew up riding skateboards and surfboards. I could have worked on my phone in the car, or done some reading. The Atherton house is big and the property is just over an acre. There’s a lot to see. Showings typically are anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I’m hoping these buyers make an acceptable offer but if not I will repeat the process until it’s sold. I may be getting a few more skate runs in.
What’s next for Realtors? I’m hoping that the government doesn’t ask more of us. We are an essential business because there are so many other businesses that feed off of our activity. Painters, flooring companies, contractors, building supply stores and even stagers, it all filters through us. Everyone along the way has to do what they need to in order to comply and help stop the spread.
As of today, May 15th 2020 there are 279 confirmed cases in Marin County, with 223 recovered and 14 deaths according to Google. That makes 42 active cases which doesn’t seem overwhelming but we are still getting new cases every day and the number of active cases has climbed into the 40’s recently. What nobody wants is to have the house they are putting on the market become the next hot spot. The real estate community is doing what they can to stop the spread. Signing the new forms and abiding by the regulations may be a lot of extra work, but it’s what we need to do to keep our economy going and keep the community safe. I’m all in. We’re all in on the fight against the virus and moving forward with our lives in this new paradigm.