4 Tips For Selling Your Southern California Home Safely During COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect our daily lives, the real estate industry has quickly and successfully adapted to meet the needs of home buyers and sellers. In fact, the housing market is booming right now as the conditions of low supply and high demand are driving a healthy seller’s market.Selling your Southern California home safely during COVID-19 is not only possible, it’s easy and we’ve been doing it for nearly 8 months since the initial shut down in March. First Team Real Estate remains #1 in Southern California because we’ve continued to help our clients succeed in the real estate market despite the new rules and challenges.Following these guidelines, our clients have continued to successfully and safely complete their home sales – and so can you.1. Exhaustive Digital MarketingNow, more than ever, it’s important to meet house hunters where they are – online. Buyers should be able to view and experience your home from the comfort of their own, which means you need quality, high-resolution photography, a 3D walkthrough tour, video, and drone footage to show off your home in its best light. A comprehensive digital marketing strategy ensures maximum exposure to home buyers, which ultimately maximizes your sales price.

2. Virtual Open Houses

It is possible to sell your home 100% virtually, and one of the important steps is hosting virtual open houses through Zoom, Facebook, or Instagram Live. Virtual open houses are minimally invasive for you as a homeowner and allow large groups of interested house hunters to view your home at once without any foot traffic.That being said, while some home buyers have purchased properties sight unseen during the pandemic, many serious buyers are still interested in touring houses in person, which is why we’ve adopted the following safety protocols and procedures for private home tours…

3. Get Your PEAD Forms Ready

Your agent can set up private and safe home tours by appointment or a digital sign-in process prior to entry, as long as all parties complete the proper PEAD forms. Drafted and provided by the California Association of REALTORS®, the Property Entry Advisory, and Declaration (PEAD) form must be signed by the seller, buyer, agents, and anyone else entering a property for sale. There are technically three different PEAD forms your agent will provide for you during your sale:PEAD-S: This is a one-page form that you as the seller/occupant must sign stating you understand the risks of allowing people into your property. As soon as you decide to list your home for sale, your agent should have you fill this out to allow private and safe showings by appointment.PEAD-LR: This two-page form is specifically for landlords and tenants to sign if you’re selling an investment property.PEAD-V: This two-page form is for ANYONE entering your property – think home buyers and vendors. Setting up the rules they need to follow while in your home, a person must sign one of these each and every time they visit, even if it’s a repeat visit. Your agent should have several of these particular PEAD forms on-hand for any showing appointments.

4. Extra Sanitization Measures

The same social distance guidelines and mask requirements that apply to our trips to the grocery store, apply to your home sale during the pandemic. It is required by California law that a flyer outlining safety precautions be posted on any and all properties for sale. Here’s the flyer our First Team agents use, which covers all rules that must be followed by vendors, professionals, and homebuyers including masks, hand washing, social distancing, and proper disposal of trash.