Rush Hour Without Rush

The Seattle area is rapidly shutting its doors.  Like everyone else, I sit in my home office watching the March snow slowly falling on the ground but this time in isn’t the snow that is causing life to come into a halt. This time it’s called COVID-19. I am increasingly worried about the small businesses around us, how on earth are they going to get through this… Selfishly I want to keep my favorite coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores around. A few days ago, I bought a bag full of books and puzzles just to support a bookstore, I had no plans of buying anything but as I was their only customer, I felt like I had to. I drive by my coffee shop and do grab and go, and I will support our local restaurants by ordering take out. Please help me and do the same. Let’s keep small businesses alive!

For my team, it is business as usual. No, it’s a new version of business as usual. I meet with clients but before meeting we do a quick check-in, to make sure everyone is healthy. I do not meet with clients that have colds and I will do the same for them. I keep hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes in all three cars at all times. After touring a home, I offer my steeply priced black market Purell to everyone in the car, and after our tour the car gets a deep cleaning with disinfectant to make sure I do not share any cooties to the next person hopping in the Team Muusa real estate cab.

I have seen countless posts from brokers encouraging to cancel all open houses. I look at this a tad differently. Should you march into a home full of strangers? Probably not, however I see an open house as a safer option to my sellers. Why? Let’s look at this a bit closer.

As a seller you get to set your rules, especially in the current market situation where homes are flying off the shelves left and right. You get to choose when and how your home is shown.

If you sit on a multimillion-dollar luxury home, it makes sense not to have open houses as you probably weren’t planning for those anyway. The plan was to only show your home to true buyers, those who have submitted their finances beforehand and shown that they indeed have the capability of buying your home. You will likely not have hundreds of people walking through your home and wiping down surfaces after showings is doable.

Now let’s look at the home that will have hundreds of potential buyers. You could ask for everyone interested to show their hand and do only private showings, meaning the buyers broker will take the potential buyer to view your home one on one. This is a healthy, risk free option for the buyers but not necessarily you as the seller. Remember, you will likely have somewhere from 10 to 50 showings per day if you opt for this. You would ask the buyers broker to use Purell and not steal it, and then wipe all surfaces touched before they leave. Did it really happen? We have no way of knowing. If the Purell is still there, they chose not to "accidentally" take it with them, but we do not know whether they wiped the surfaces or not. This being said, you’ll want to wipe all surfaces between every showing. Sound like a lot of work? Oh, yes.

What happens if you only do open houses? First, ask your broker to have two brokers at the house during the open house. One broker will be showing your home, the other one will be managing the traffic flow and handing out hand sanitizer for everyone that enters your home. If you expect your open houses to be busy, you should do this anyways to protect your home and belongings. After the open house, all surfaces get thoroughly wiped and you are welcome to come back home. We now know that every doorknob, table and countertop got wiped. If I were you, I would likely wipe them one more time, but that’s just me.

If things go as planned you have an offer review date set, you’ll get at least one offer by that time and everything is over in a few days. You have minimized your risk of exposure yet allowed every potential buyer to see your home.

In the event that your home is already vacant, or you have chosen to go away for a long weekend, then, go ahead and do it all. Maximum exposure to both buyers and germs. Ask your broker to wipe all surfaces before you come home.

Real estate brokers are professional problem solvers, we’ve got this! We are used to facing the unexpected, nagging about timelines and pointing out things that you may not have noticed. As long as you don’t hop on a tour bus full of strangers you should be fine driving with your broker to look at homes, and if you have concerns, you can always drive separately. If selling your home, make a plan and remember, you get to choose what works best for you.