The real estate market is experiencing low mortgage interest rates right now which has triggered real estate buyers to jump on new opportunities! If you are ready to sell your house, don’t let the virus stop you! Buyers are buying! Here are some tips for selling your Ottawa house during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sell Directly
The easiest and fastest way to sell your Ottawa house during the Coronavirus Pandemic is to work with a direct buyer. HappyDoor can help you facilitate the process, which may be much easier than working with a traditional agent!
No Open Houses
If you are going to sell or have your house listed already, don’t have an open house. It is too risky to have multiple strangers from different households, possibly different cities or states coming into your home wandering about. You would have to have strict management of all of these guests and maybe only allow so many people in at a time. With technology as great as it is, there are ways around the traditional open house, you will just need to be flexible and creative.
Create Virtual Tours
You definitely do not need to do an open house anymore. Once your house is photo-ready, go ahead and take a walking video tour of your home. Go slowly and try not to be too shaky or spin too quickly. These videos can easily be uploaded and shared on a plethora of real estate advertising sites, or you can upload to a popular video hosting site to share with your real estate professional. This will allow potential buyers to virtually walk through your home without bringing their germs! You can also hire a professional videographer to come take professional video, which will help you out even more! Although many of these services may not be currently operating.
Clean!
When you do receive inquiries from serious buyers, you will need to make sure to clean up and sanitize commonly touched surfaces including door handles, light switches, countertops, and any other features you would like the potential buyers to be able to try out. During this time of the pandemic, it is acceptable to ask the buyer to try not to touch surfaces as much as possible; however, there are some things you just have to touch, such as light switches in the garage or hallways. Once the showing is over, you will then have to make sure to sanitize all of those surfaces over again. You shouldn’t be present when the buyer is viewing the house, so you have to assume they have touched doors and light switches.
Use Technology
In this day and age, it is perfectly acceptable to use video conferencing or phone conferencing instead of face to face meetings when discussing the terms of the sale of your home. You can also use digital signature programs to negotiate the contract. They even have mail-away closings available so you can have a fully contactless transaction.
Take it Easy
Selling your home is a lot of work and stress under normal circumstances. During the coronavirus pandemic, selling your house is just a little bit more stressful because of the possible extra cleaning and avoidance of contact. Don’t be afraid to take the steps of selling your house at your own pace. Plan ahead for multiple showings and only allow one or two per week to cut down on your cleaning time. Make videos and pictures of your home easily available to potential buyers and real estate professionals. These tips should help you during this unprecedented time to sell your Ottawa house during the coronavirus pandemic.