Like most things in 2020, the pandemic threw some challenges at the real estate market. By its very nature, real estate transactions are typically ones that aren’t done from home. From walking through potential homes or properties to meeting in person to sign pages and pages of documents at closing, real estate is difficult to do while adhering to social distancing.

However, the real estate market has figured out ways to adapt. Virtual tours, remote closings, and remote online notarization are all tools that the real estate market has embraced to keep all involved in a real estate transaction safe. To learn more about what the top real estate agents are doing to make it work, read on.

Virtual Tours

Virtual tours have been around for a number of years. However, many online listing still just include photos of the home or make a slide show of the photos and call that a virtual tour. The idea is that people will see these photos online and then come to see the house in person.

Virtual tours that are replacing home walkthroughs or open houses need to be much more detailed than a set of photos of the home. A virtual tour should be an actual 3D walkthrough of the home and show many things that wouldn’t necessarily be captured in photos, including:

• Bathrooms

• Storage spaces

• Basements

• Closets

• Laundry rooms

• Outdoor things like the roof, gutters, and the inside of the garage

This allows potential buyers to see any areas that need to be addressed, such as gutters or a new roof. Before a virtual tour, you might want to consider doing things like having your gutters cleaned or your roof shampooed, especially as some real estate agents are using drones to capture pictures and video of your roof and aerial views of your home. A company like Armstrong & Nelson Eavestroughing can handle this maintenance for you. 

You can also ask your real estate agent to FaceTime with you and walk through the home. That allows you to dictate what you want to see.

Digital Closings and Remote Notarizations

If you’ve ever bought or sold a home before, you know that the closing is long and boring. It usually consists of you signing a mountain of paperwork that all needs to be notarized. However, local public health guidelines have limited closings and who can attend.

Rather than going to a title agency or other location to sign the documents to close, digital closings allow the documents to be mailed to the buyers and sellers and the closing to occur over video conference where their identities can be confirmed. The documents are then digitally notarized and the closing is done without anyone having to come into contact with each other.

Socially Distanced Home Showings

When home showings are necessary, proper precautions must be followed. The number of people in a home at the same time should be limited, masks and gloves must be worn, and if the potential buyers touch anything, it should be cleaned and disinfected.

The Top Real Estate Agents Won’t Be Stopped by the Pandemic

Although it seems like much of the country came to a screeching halt during the pandemic, real estate is an essential service. People still need to buy and sell homes, to the top real estate agents in the country were forced to get creative. This is especially important as mortgage rates are at all-time lows right now, so it’s a great time to buy.

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