COVID-19 Update from a Realtor’s Perspective

Good morning! Since many of us are at home or slowing things down based on the recent COVID-19 pandemic, I figured this was the perfect time to send you my thoughts and recommendations for buying and selling during this crazy(!) time, and my thoughts in general. To give you a quick update – the Real Estate Market here in the Chippewa Valley is still moving along. Yes, things will likely slow down due to all of the shut downs and folks working from home, but we still have had 31 New Listings and 14 Accepted offers in the last 24 hours in the our MLS – the Realtors Association of Northwestern Wisconsin. So, people are still out house hunting. Here are my recommendations for continuing your home search and sale for the foreseeable future!

Actions that I’m taking:

1. Gloves and Hand Sanitizer will be provided for all home showings and walk throughs. I will be providing these items for all clients and customers until the COVID-19 situation improves. This is to help keep everyone comfortable, and most importantly, healthy!
2. Online Home Buyer and Seller Consultations. I will be doing this to help our community get informed and prepared to buy and sell, because although it’s become much harder to meet in person, your lives aren’t going to completely stop. By hosting these consultations live, and online, I’ll be able to bring you the information you need to know in order to have a great experience buying or selling a home! I have already scheduled a live Home Buyer Consultation for this Sunday, March 22nd at 7 PM. You can watch from the comfort of your home – here is the event link on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/542790079709074/. I will be scheduling an online Seller Consultation within the next week as well.
3. Heavily utilizing cutting edge technology. Now more than ever, I will be leaning on digital tools such as digital signatures via zipforms and DocuSign, MLS automated home searches, FaceTime, Facebook Live, Photofy, and virtual tours to help you continue your home search and sale with ease and confidence. If you’d like me to tour a home and take a video for you, I will do so!
4. Suspending any open houses. With the risk of getting over 10 people in a home at once, I will not be hosting any open houses until it seems prudent to do so.

For Home Buyers:

1. Assess your health prior to any home showings. This is important for everyone’s health. If you are not feeling well, it’s best to not schedule or attend any home showings until you feel better.
2. Wash hands prior to and after any showings and utilize gloves while in any home.
3. If you wish to suspend your home search until this situation improves, I completely understand! We can pick up right where we left off once things clear up!
4. Keep looking for the right house. As strange as it is to say, some buyers will suspend their home searches and this may create an opportunity for buyers who choose to continue searching. Mortgage rates are still very low, and if you are wanting to continue your house hunt, you may be able to find a great home with less competition!
5. If you can’t attend home showings, ask your Realtor to schedule a showing for you and conduct a video walkthrough – this is a great way to leverage technology!

For Home Sellers:

1. Ask buyers to assess their health prior to coming into your home. Request that if they are feeling sick, they do not conduct a showing.
2. Clean, clean, clean your home before and after showings – this is a double win. Not only will your home show better, but it will also keep everyone healthy!
3. If you wish to suspend your home sale until this situation improves, I completely understand! We can pick up right where we left off once things clear up!
4. Consider setting up a virtual tour for your home. This is something your Realtor or Real Estate Photographer can offer and it will allow buyers to see your home and “tour” it without having to be there.
5. Do not host any open houses or allow overlapping showings. This is just a good practice to keep everyone healthy – including you – during these uncertain times!
6. Price your home to sell. One thing you may not want is many, many showings and buyers walking through your home. You will be best off pricing your home right, getting a great offer from a qualified buyer, and getting your home under contract rather than having your home sit on the market, have many showings, reducing the price, and having your home become a “stale” listing. This doesn’t mean undersell your home, I simply mean to price it competitively to get yourself the strongest offer with the least hassle to you!

My thoughts in general:

This is a tough time for our community and the world. We all need a little kindness and optimism in our lives right now! Here are just a few things that I’m doing to remain positive during these uncertain times – I hope that this will help you as well!

1. Take this time at home to reconnect with those you love.
2. Learn a new skill.
3. Complete that project you’ve been putting off that you didn’t have time for previously.
4. Work on your business to become stronger than you were before these shut downs!
5. Volunteer at a local non-profit organization. Many of these organizations will see a surge in need during these times and if you are able to help out, the community will be a better place for it!
6. Say a prayer of gratitude for the things that you do have and reflect on the positives you have going for you.
7. Support your local, small businesses that will be hurt due to these shut downs. Now more than ever, they are counting on and relying on your support!

Once again, I wish everyone GREAT health and happiness. Please feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts or questions. The Tim Nelson Team, RE/MAX Affiliates is open for business and I’d love to help you navigate your next Real Estate Adventure, no matter the situation. Have a great day and week, everyone.

Until Next Time…

~ Tim Nelson | tim.nelson.properties@gmail.com | 715-529-0239