Buying a Home in Guelph During the Pandemic
On March 26, I stopped showing homes to my buying clients. At that time, we were sanitizing our hands and doing our best not to touch anything, but I chose to stop showing homes for two reasons:
We didn’t know how to keep buyers completely safe from the COVID-19 virus.
We didn’t know how the pandemic would affect market prices. If the pandemic pushed prices down radically then it could have been difficult for buyers to get financing based on an undervalued property.
After watching the market for 6 weeks and learning how COVID-19 is transmitted, it felt safe to come out and start showing homes again. And housing market prices didn’t drop; in fact, Guelph prices continued a steady climb.
Most important, realtors created protocols to keep buyers and sellers safe. Here are the steps that I follow with my buying clients:
Before home viewings:
First, we look at all virtual materials, including photos, 360° and video tours, and floor plans. If possible, the buyers or I should drive past the home to check out the neighbourhood, visually inspect the outside condition of the building, and see the general yard and property features.
Sellers, buyers, and the buyers’ representative must fill out a form stating they haven’t been exposed to COVID-19 and are not suffering from any symptoms.
During home viewings:
No more than 2 buyers and 1 realtor are allowed in the home at a time, and no children are allowed inside.
Social distancing must be observed.
Masks and disposable gloves must be worn (which I can provide).
We minimize what we touch in the house. I usually wear gloves or carry a sanitizing wipe and act as my buyers’ ‘hands,’ following their instructions to open and close doors.
No use of bathrooms.
No overlapping showings with other agents and their buyers.
Other possible requests include:
Wearing booties over shoes.
Only 1 showing an hour to allow time between showings for any airborne droplets to drop to the ground.
Sanitizing hands and using a sanitizing wipe to open cupboards and clean the key, lock box, and door handle after leaving.
In many ways, the new way of hunting for a home is more efficient instead of going through Open Houses on weekends and spending hours visiting multiple homes in person. I am now very confident that when a buyer wants to view homes, by doing virtual viewings first and only going to homes that truly meet their needs (while observing COVID-19 safety protocol), I can keep my buyers safe. Then we can focus our time and effort on negotiating the best offer for their new dream home.
If you have questions about how I can help you find a new home during these challenging times, please connect with me.