When the COVID-19 pandemic hit American shores earlier this year, the world practically stopped for a while. Depending on what you did for work, you were either being forced to work from home, or you weren’t working at all due to the nature of your job not allowing for proper safety precautions against the virus. Depending on where you live and your own comfort level, it’s possible that you’ve either re-entered the workforce following those precautions or you’re getting ready to. What if you work in real estate? Being a real estate agent usually means having to meet with clients and show them houses that they’re interested in. This means you’ll be meeting with individuals whose whereabouts you can’t be sure of and are going into other individuals’ homes, increasing your chances of getting the virus or passing it on to your loved ones. In order to ensure you go back to work as safely as possible, here are a few ways to approach real estate going forward.
Practice Proper Hygiene
While this should be obvious, following proper hygiene practices while you’re interacting with various clients is a must in today’s climate. Be sure to wash your hands frequently and be sure to have hand sanitizer readily available during any meetups for yourself, your co-workers, and your clients. Unfortunately, you can’t expect your clients to always do these things themselves so when meeting with them it’s important you avoid any type of physical contact with them. In fact, be sure to social distance and keep everyone at least six feet apart. Finally, it’s important that everyone present wears a mask. Masks are a great way to help slow the spread of the virus, and everyone should have one on when meeting in person.
Encourage Virtual Showings
For homebuyers, the best way to get a feel for a house usually involves actually going to the home and touring it. While this is still something that can be done right now, it’s best for agents to push clients towards virtual showings to help them weed out their choices. Once they’ve found a house they seem to really like, an in-person visit can be scheduled in order to avoid going around multiple houses and raising the chances of spreading the virus.
Adhere To Local Laws
Another somewhat obvious one, but since each state is handling the pandemic differently, it’s important you follow all state laws. Many states won’t allow you to have open houses due to laws saying larger groups aren’t allowed to meet indoors. It’s also important that when physical meetups happen that each individual gets a health screening in order to be sure to decrease any chance of spreading the virus.