Covid-19 Best Practices
Dear clients,
This has been an unprecedented week with all that is changing rapidly as a result of COVID-19.
There is no shortage of questions surrounding COVID-19 and how it has the potential to touch all aspects of our lives – personally and professionally. There is no doubt that the time to act in the best interest of the greater good is upon us. Our priority right now is ensuring we take as many precautions as possible to help protect our family, friends and the vulnerable in our communities.
For all interactions with clients, customers, vendors and the public we will ensure that the following hygienic measures and operating procedures will be taken to help limit the spread of virus:
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Buyer and Seller Virtual Presentations and Q&A
Scheduling a virtual ‘coffee get together’ can easily happen through sharing my computer screen to you. You will be able to see me via video conference call and I can share my screen with you to walk you through the presentation slides. We can spend as much time talking over strategy and process
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Sellers: Listing the Property
In order to accommodate the current marketplace we will be arranging a schedule/action plan that would be as follows:
– If your home is for sale with us and you do not have access to disposable wipes please reach out to us and we will do our best to supply you some for your home. We will be asking visitors and their agents to wash hands and to ask those who are ill to or who have recently traveled to reschedule
– we recommend our homeowners to increase surface cleaning in high traffic areas of your home. Leave lights on for showings (per the norm) – we will tell the viewers not to touch them and not to turn the lights off. We can also provide all of you a sign to ask visitors to please wash hands before showing. Ensure you have soap, disposable towels and garbage bin handy.
– If you feel your family is ill or been exposed, please let us know immediately and we will suspend viewings right away
– Property description and measurements – I will schedule a time with you to (1) bring a mechanical lockbox to place onto the property – please have a spare key available (2) take measurements of the property 3) write property description. Depending on Seller comfort level this can be done by myself alone or meeting with you onsite
– Pictures – once the property is ready for the photography we will schedule a time for our photographers to go in and take the full shoot. As there is a mechanical lockbox onsite with the Sellers permission we will arrange to have our bonded and security protected photographers onsite to do the shoot on their own to ensure social distancing
– Open Houses – as part of all services we will be doing a video walk through of the property and make available on our site for interested parties to view – for security purposes we will ask people to RSVP prior to granting access to the secure page for the video tour
– Launching on MLS and all marketing channels – no change in process
– Offers and negotiations – no change in process
– Inspections/Appraisals – access will be permitted with Seller’s permission utilizing the lockbox onsite to have approved contacts into home – every effort will be made to reduce social distancing so Buyers will be asked if they can have the inspector inspect the property alone to reduce foot traffic and exposure in property
– FWT Final Walk Through – contractually we will allow the sellers and co-operating agent to walk through the property as per normal operating procedures – once again being mindful to work together to keep social distancing and sanitary involved in the process
– all buyers and co-operating brokerages will provide details on items such as if they have traveled recently, near anyone that has traveled, if they have been feeling unwell prior to be approved for showing access
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Buyers:
– we can easily connect by conference call to review properties in the automated property tool to help narrow down short-listed properties to ensure we are visiting minimal properties reducing our foot traffic and frequency into properties
– we ask Buyers to drive in separate cars to meet for showings and to keep social distancing during interactions. When onsite both myself and Buyers will use a sanitary wipe to open any cupboards, doors, light switches – all high contact points, where and if necessary, which will enable us to ensure things are left sanitized
– in some cases, we will coordinate a video walk through of properties to allow for reduced social interaction reducing the opportunity for spread of the virus
– ask that showings are deemed essential – no ‘shopping around’ only under strict requirements should showings take place (i.e. buyer is contractually obligated to find a new home, they are in immediate requirement of shelter)
– if showings are deemed to be required, then the following procedures will be in affect:
– request that all wash their hands with soap and water or disinfect with an alcohol-based sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol
– use disinfecting wipes to clean commonly-shared surfaces like door handles
– during showings we ask visitors to limit numbers as much as possible
– reduce as much as possible physically touching any items in the home
– refrain from greeting others with handshakes
– encourage clients to thoroughly clean and disinfect house after open houses or viewings to further protect buyers during showings
– request clients or attendees to notify you if you are ill and are experiencing any symptoms
– avoid sharing items such as phones, tablets or laptops
– practicing “social distancing”—in other words, stay in isolation if you’re showing symptoms of being sick and keep a two-metre radius from others when out in public
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Additional Operating Procedures, Best Practises and Information Resources can be found here: