Across The Board Real Estate Considered An Essential Business

Ah, I wish you could read everything I've been reading about my profession and how it relates to the current pandemic. It's overwhelming, but I read EVERYTHING. And, our poor management team has heard from me a lot.

I've been home for weeks. Going out for essential items now and again. Mostly home and working towards closing escrows that opened prior to COVID 19. Working on keeping every one I know as informed as possible about Real Estate & the Corona Virus.

Over the weekend, California added us as Essential Business, there are still restrictions in place. But, our City and County have us considered basically the same way.

I'd been so upset with other Realtors selling homes, showing homes, etc. while we weren't listed as essential.

If you could read the content from the California Association of Realtors on what we can do, what we shouldn't do, what we need to advise.....they call it 'Best Practices'. Best because, quite honestly, who the hell knows, but here are the best suggestions we recommend.

I have a Fiduciary responsibility to my clients. They trust me to provide the utmost care and give them the most current information on what is happening in Real Estate, whether we have a health crisis or not.

Yesterday I sent an update to a Seller of a vacant home that has been on Hold for over a week since we first listed it. Both my Seller and myself felt we should be off market due to COVID 19 and reevaluate on April 1st. Yes, yesterday was March 31st but so many things have changed, we reevaluated a day early.

We'd been working towards getting it on the market for a couple months & it just so happened they were completely ready to go and then all the you-know-what hit the fan.

So yesterday the email consisted of my opinion, knowledge, facts, details, and then it was left to the Seller to leave the vacant property on Hold or release it as Active with ......a TON of showing restrictions to protect, as much as possible, any visitors to the home and my client.

I just hit the button that said 'Change to Active'. My stomach lurched. My anxiety is high. I'm heading over this morning to Lysol the lockbox & place a note that says please sanitize keys or wear gloves, hide it so no one goes in without signing the Declaration & Release, leave a trash can with instructions to dispose of whatever they used to keep healthy, dropping off some doggy poop bags to use as gloves just in case what my Seller left yesterday gets used up and a visitor doesn't have any.

And, I'll be taking pictures of all of that so when I get a copy of the signed Declaration & Release via email, I can send those pics back as a reminder of how to behave and stay healthy while out in these current Corona Virus trenches.

And, yes, this photo will be sent to prospective visitors too.....

Be Safe my friends......so incredibly grateful that this property is vacant. 

I'd probably have a full blown heart attack if there was a family living in the home.