House selling during pandemic has become a big challenge for many real estate agents, brokers, and investors. It is almost impossible to close deals because people are not allowed to go out and they cannot view the houses physically.
Contactless buying became a norm for real estate agents and investors and they figured that it is currently the best way to sell houses and to prevent their clients from contracting the disease.
If you are planning to sell your house and you want to keep your clients safe, let’s talk about some of the current issues surrounding the real estate market and how you can adapt to the new normal.
How Did the Pandemic Affect the Real Estate Industry?
Most homeowners decided to put down the sale of their houses and most consumers decided that it is not yet time to buy a new house.
Even banks stopped offering loans, making it impossible for most consumers to obtain financing. The United States and the other countries are slowing easing up the restrictions and it means that the real estate industry can start operating as well. If you want to sell your house fast, you just have to know the steps that you have to take and the strategies that you need to employ to sell your properties.
Is It Possible to Sell during Lockdown?
Yes, it is possible to sell your property during the Covid-19 lockdown and there are many things that you can do to make it possible. Although there are strict restrictions when it comes to social distancing and going out, most agents and brokers are still allowed to visit a property in alert level 3.
They can perform inspections and visit the house as long as they are following the strict guidelines of the government to prevent the spread of the disease. Once the inspections and appraisals are done, you can put up your properties for rent or sale.
Can you Get a Mortgage Online?
If you are worried that your buyers won’t be able to apply for mortgage loans, there are a lot of lenders that would allow the consumers to get a mortgage online. Since buyers can now apply for a mortgage online, they can afford to buy new properties even during the lockdown.
There are some banks that are still closed during the pandemic and there are some that are operating on limited hours. The customers can apply for mortgages since the banks or lending institutions can pull up their information online.
The consumers can also sign an e-document or scan the documents that they have and send them through email.
Online Inspections and Appraisals
If you want to sell your house without contact, you can opt for online inspections and appraisals. You don’t really need to go to the site to check the properties. If you plan to buy or sell properties, you can just ask the inspectors to provide a video of what they discovered in the house. You can also have a video chat with them while they are inspecting so you can also check the areas of the house.
The appraisers can also do a drive-by. They can easily determine the value of the house or property without having to go out of their car and entering the property. Although they cannot make an accurate appraisal by doing this, it is much safer.
Contactless Closing
This is a very important thing to do during a pandemic because we are trying to limit the interaction between people. Although there are a lot of strict rules implemented, it doesn’t mean that closing a deal will be impossible.
We know the importance of being physically present when closing a deal, but there are other ways to do this.
- Send a Document to the Buyer. You can send the document to the buyer and let him/her sign it. You can also have a video chat with them so they can ask questions about the contract.
- Take the Contract from the Buyer. Once the contract is officially signed, the next step is to have someone take the documents from the buyer. It will then be delivered to you and you can check everything before proceeding to the next step.
- Transfer the Keys. When everything is settled and the documents are already processed, the last step is to give the keys to the buyer.
This step-by-step method entails minimal interaction between the buyer and the seller, but you can close the deal easily.
Conclusion
There are so many ways to close a deal and sell your properties. You can also buy a lot of properties if you want even during the lockdown.
As long as you understand the rules in your city and you can minimize interaction with other people, you can continue with your business and be safe at the same time.
Victor is a real estate investment specialist, with more than four years of experience in the industry. He is specialized in real estate purchasing processes and has rich experience in writing different guides on this topic. Currently working as a Business Development Manager at Prospect Group and manages the Creative Marketing side as well. He has experience in buying houses in difficult situations such as probates, foreclosures, liens, problem tenants etc.
