Rules. There are always rules and lately the rules for covid-19 home showings have evolved. Let me rephrase that. There are some county rules that have been in play since mid-March. And then there are some unstated house rules.
For instance, prior to the pandemic, say, way back in February of 2020 – or as I’m jotting this, just under a year ago today – it was a lot easier to set a showing. In fact, back then in the good ole days, multiple showings were the norm. It was completely respectable for a listing agent to allow several showings to take place at the very same time.
I might arrive with my clients to find the lockbox open, the key removed, the front door wide open.
We would join others inside the house and take a look around. Sometimes the prior agent would quiz me on the lockbox code and hand over the key. Other times, I never found the person with the key. My party would come and go without using the locks.
Covid 19 Changed all that. Showings no longer overlap. Technically, there is the idea of a breathing period between home showings. That the air might settle down for fifteen minutes between one appointment and another. Or, there are no gaps, but just one appointment after another for eight hours a day, three days over the weekend.
Change The Rules
I didn’t want to work all weekend when I listed my most recent house on 708 Brome Pl. And I wanted my client to get the most possible showings without agents competing to get into other houses at the same time. So we listed early in the week, received 20 showings in 48 hours. Followed by multiple offers. And a contract.
Boulder CO home buyers should come prepared for showings. Wear gloves and a quality mask. Be ready to remove shoes or wear booties. Have hand sanitizer handy in this day and age of Coronavirus.
Of course, a different change I have to live with as a buyer’s agent (I help both buyers and sellers) is arranging a tour. A year ago, it was put the best homes in the easiest order and take two hours to see properties. Now, its be ready to zigzag around town. Try to have standing appointment days with clients so I can pre-plan and set showings early for the best homes.
Forget about having an hour window to arrive and depart. This weekend, working with Greg, my covid-19 home showings are all limited to 15 to 30 minute windows. And we’ll be zigzagging around town to see the three places we can actually get into.
I’m not upset (well, not upset a lot).
New rules require new ways of thinking. I’ll be ready to spend a few hours like a gowned surgeon. Gloves, masked, booties. With hand sanitizer in the car and cleaning supplies at hand.
As the Sarge used to say on Hill Street Blues, “Let’s stay safe out there!”