The Coronavirus has taken over our lives and brought an uncertain future to nearly everyone. This is scary AF. Now, imagine if you HAD to buy or sell a house right now.
This is a reality for some people. Just 4 weeks ago the market in Burlington was HOT. I mean multiple offers on anything decent that was listed. Buyers were way more afraid of the buying process than the selling process. Selling was going to be the fun part after losing multiple dream homes.
Now just imagine you finally won that dream house on March 11th and the very next day it’s announced that schools are closing for the 2 weeks following March break. Your heart stops for a moment. What does this mean?
Well… very quickly after that, we all discovered what it meant. People were not going to look at houses anymore… unless they absolutely had to.
Fortunately for these Sellers, there are Buyers who HAVE to buy. Despite the common understanding at the outset of 2020 that buying was so challenging it made no sense to sell first, there are always people who are conservative in their approach and sell first anyway.
These people, the ones who sold their houses already, they NEED to buy. This isn’t optional.
So how do we as Realtors connect these Buyers who have to buy with the Sellers who have to sell when everyone is being told to STAY THE F*#K HOME?
FaceTime Showings
Technology is great. People tell me they spend countless hours every day scrolling MLS, perusing photos of homes, and falling in love. But looking at photos has never been where the home buying process has ended before. Now buyers are questioning if they can even go look at a home in person. While there are no laws against doing this yet, there are real health, societal and moral concerns for people… concerns that were simply not present just a few short weeks ago.
So how on earth do you get a buyer comfortable enough to make an offer on a home they’ve never stepped foot in? We thought FaceTime might do the trick.
While the whole world is using social video apps to work remotely and connect with loved ones, we thought, maybe this was also the answer to selling houses.
The Buyer calls the seller directly. The Seller walks the Buyer through the home: step by step, pointing the camera in any direction requested, and answering all questions openly and honestly. The experience is raw and direct. It’s not a polished, edited virtual tour intended to SELL. If the Buyer gets a good feeling from the Seller, we thought maybe, just maybe, this would be the way to get the Buyer to a place of comfort.
Well so far it has helped. We have had Buyers reach out and use this option. We even received an ultimately successful offer.
Of course, not all Sellers will be willing to do this or even be good candidates to inspire trust (just sayin’). Other Realtors have pointed out to us that we are basically removing ourselves from the process and allowing for a private sale. Well, first of all… no, that’s not what’s happening. We are still involved in all other aspects of the transaction, from listing to advising to negotiating etc. But also, this really isn’t the time to be worried about ourselves and the future of our profession. All we should be concerned with at this moment in time is helping. Ensuring that people caught in this mess get out successfully.
This is an unprecedented approach at an unprecedented time in history.
Let’s do it right.
Be creative, our clients will appreciate it and our whole profession will be elevated.
-Erin
