Despite the Corona virus, there are still people who will buy or sell homes. For whatever reasons, they can’t or don’t want to wait around for weeks or possibly months to make their moves.
There ARE many reasons why people will still buy and sell.
For instance:
- Some need to sell a house in probate because the estate can’t afford to make the payments.
- People who are divorcing might need to sell because one spouse alone can’t make the payments – or because they don’t trust each other and fear damage to their credit ratings if the “responsible” party fails to pay.
- Those who are behind on payments need to sell to preserve any equity they have, or to save their credit from the stain of a foreclosure.
- Corporate employees or members of the armed services may need to sell because they’re being transferred.
On the other side, there are people who need or want to buy for a variety of reasons.
Some markets will slow because of the Corona virus…
These are markets where buying and selling is largely optional. Agents in affluent retirement communities are already seeing the effect. Their clients, many of whom are older, don’t want to travel to view homes.
Hopefully the government’s aggressive response to this outbreak will cause the crisis to pass quickly.
How can you safely practice real estate amid fears of the Corona Virus?
First, practice the hygiene guidelines that we’ve been hearing on TV and reading in our emails until we should have them well memorized.
Wash your hands. Use hand wipes. Use disinfectant gels. Do it all as a matter of routine. If this became a habit for Americans, the “regular flu” might not spread as it does, and perhaps 12,000 to 60,000 people would not die from it each year. (Yes, look it up.) That could be part of the silver lining in this dark cloud.
We should all protect our overall health and ability to resist disease by staying hydrated, eating nutritious meals, getting enough rest, and perhaps taking our vitamins. I’ve read that Vitamin C is especially beneficial for immune support.
But back to the corona virus and your real estate business…
For your safety, your buyers’ safety, your sellers’ safety, and everyone’s peace of mind, consider:
- Suspending open houses.
- Having potential buyers meet you, rather than sharing your car.
- Sanitizing lock boxes, keys, and door knobs each time you visit a house. (Lysol does make a pocket-sized travel spray, and perhaps other brands do as well.)
- Providing your buyers with gel or wipes at the door to each home – to use both upon entering and exiting.
- Alternately, providing disposable gloves to buyers as they enter each home.
If you do have fewer buyers and sellers right now, what can you do to make good use of your time?
Beyond the obvious answer of enjoying a bit of free time with your loved ones, there is plenty to do.
- Organize your databases.
- Reorganize your home work space.
- Begin prospecting, or increase your prospecting efforts to a niche you’ve been wanting to develop.
- If you’ve purchased prospecting letters and have not yet put them to use, get them uploaded to your email auto
responder and / or set up this plan for postal mailings.
- Add some “capture boxes” to your website. If you already have them, consider switching out your special reports for something fresh.
- Write what mass marketers call a “lift note” to include with mailed prospecting letters or as additions to your email prospecting. In it, tell your potential buyers and sellers the steps you’re taking to ensure their safety in .
- Read your agent bio and check to see if it needs an update. If you haven’t looked at it for a year or more, the answer is probably “Yes.”
- If you don’t have an agent bio, write one, or get in touch with me to write one. Remember that “about me” is the 3rd most read page on a service provider’s website.
- Use a broken link checker and see that all the links on your website (including your blog) are working.
On a personal level:
- Call an old friend, just to visit.
- Begin researching / studying something that interests you.
- Clean your closets.
- Curl up with a good book for a few hours.
- Cook some favorite time-consuming recipe.
- In other words, do something pleasant that you don’t generally have or take time to do.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“Only 8% of our worry will come to pass. 92% of our worry is wasted. DON’T PANIC”
― Mark Gorman
“Slow down and think. Panic doesn’t solve problems; it just creates new ones.”
― Jason Fry, The Last Jedi
Since you may not be able to purchase sanitizing gels…
Because people have gone into panic mode, many stores are out. This website offers the recipe for you to make your own.
One of my friends wrote that she had always made her own sanitizing gel, but this time the store was out of 99% alcohol. According to the article, 180 proof Vodka will serve the same purpose, so you do have an alternative if your stores are out of alcohol.
My husband saw a cute commercial promoting some brand of Vodka as a dual-purpose product. First the actor poured it over his hands, then he took a swig from the bottle. Good plan if you like vodka!
This too shall pass…
The Corona virus has put things in chaos right now, but we will come through the crisis just as we have come through many others. Panic is never useful, because it stands in the way of rational thinking.
So do be careful, and don’t make yourself sick with worry.
I do have one question…
Do you happen to know how the frenzy over toilet paper started? The hoarding is at insane levels.
Lots of great insight and good idea’s. And what is it about the toilet paper? I don’t get it either…..
Jim Dunlea – I have not figured that out. My son says someone started it just to see if it would go viral – and it did.
Hi Marte, here are 3 suggestions from a retired Registered Nurse
1. More Vitamin C is a good idea. A glass of good orange juice twice a day, or eat a fresh orange.
2. Monitor the color of your urine. It should not be gold color. Drink more water, if it is.
3. When you are in the grocery store, pause, and choose a spot to stand and watch the people. It’s wild!
Thanks Zippy. I did go to the grocery store yesterday – not sure there would have been any place to stand still!
Apparently stores in surrounding areas have run out of food, so they’re descending on our little town in droves. Still, I was able to purchase most of what was on my list. Forgot the bread and it’s 10 miles back to town, so had to bake last night.
I agree Zippy. People in stores are crazy. Some are oblivious to the fact they are in your personal space while others are wrapped up like your database! with Face mask, gloves and clothing from head to toes! Why people are hoarding the wipes, and hand sanitizer, I wonder do they realize that if you cannot get sanitizer or wipes you will make them sick!! 🙂
I love your posts.
Trish
Hi Trish,
Trish – I didn’t see anyone here wrapped in masks – just saw about 4 times as many people as I’ve ever seen at one time in our little store. The employees were scrambling trying to keep the shelves filled.
I think people here aren’t as wild as some places, because there have been no documented cases in the area. Still, people are using the hand wipes.
I love your take on the hoarders! It’s silly. First, how much of it can you need, and second, we CAN make our own.
Thanks for your kind words about my posts!
2 more good ideas:
1. Open a window at each end of your house, each day, for half an hour or so. Especially your bedroom window.
2. Hang your freshly washed laundry, especially your bed linens, out to dry in the sun, air and wind. Mine are outside now.
Zippy – the open windows sound like a good idea, and I would love to have an outdoors clothesline. Of course, we get so much wind that things would be covered with dust, but still – I’d like to have one.
I can’t figure out where all the dust comes from when the ground is covered in snow, but I’m constantly dusting the house.
Here’s more advice from Zippy:
Wash your eyeglasses and sunglasses. They sit on your nose and your cheeks. Wash carefully with soap and
water each day. Dry with that soft cloth that doesn’t scratch.
Maybe the dust comes off the trees, Marte
I suppose it could. I’m sure they get filled with it all summer long, even though we live on a dead end road with very little traffic stirring up the dust on the road.
Good thought about the glasses. I really don’t feel very concerned living where I do. I only go into town every week or two, so living here is a bit like living in self-isolation.