Real Estate Amid a Global Crisis: Work Arounds for the New Normal

Expert Contribution by Marianne Slamm, Keller Williams Realty

Life has shifted and continues to change. Thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve been forced to brainstorm workarounds and adjust to the dynamics of the New Normal. The good news is…when the chips are down, we tend to do our best work.

COVID-19 cannot totally put our lives on hold. If you’re a current buyer, seller or prospective renter, rest assured that industry professionals will develop effective solutions and keep the market going in response to your needs.

Your life or work scenarios may dictate a move. In fact, you may already be in the middle of selling your house. Plus, we’re seeing an uptick in the suburban rental market. Increasingly, families want to temporarily get out of the cities. Real estate professionals are here to help you. It’s simply that their methods and platforms will be modified.

Thankfully, the industry has already provided agents with the technology tools and training to run our businesses virtually. We’ll have to expand the use of these tools and rely on them in new ways. Video tours, including 3D viewing, will help us make the insides of homes more visible, and both buyers and sellers will benefit.

Facetime and Zoom showings will allow agents to connect with clients. Plus, when you’re getting ready to sell, these same technologies will allow agents and stagers to work with homeowners, become familiar with a property and provide consultation. These methods combined with robust additional marketing will enhance seller exposure to potential buyers. We might even speculate that the use of these channels will inform a higher level of communication between buyers, sellers and agents.

The administrative side of client work can also be handled digitally. We have the capability to use electronic and remote document signing for listings, contracts and closings. Closings may still be held at your attorney’s office, but the modified format will require advance paperwork preparation and signing, and only essential people will participate in the official closing.

Getting mortgage approval for buyers can also be easily done by phone complemented with drive-by appraisals to gain a property’s accurate market.

What’s more, your agents will not only be thinking creatively but also relying on the relationships they’ve already built to accommodate clients. Those established relationships enable efficient and effective interface with town officials and attorneys. Tasks such as closing out permits, obtaining Certificates of Occupancy and completing final meter readings are easily coordinated.

Granted, these methods may seem awkward at first. Until they become second nature, it may take longer to sell a house or move from offer to closing. But patience, ingenuity and staying the course will have a payoff—which will include, reinforce and continue to test a life lesson: Difficult times are the proof that necessity is the mother of invention.

To get market insights or discuss your situation, call Marianne Slamm at 973-216-1912 or write to her at mail to: marianneslamm@gmail.com.