Approach any Charlotte, NC Realtor these days and they can confidently answer you that yes, you can still sell your house in a pandemic.
Admittedly, though, some changes have been made to make the process more digital in nature and to protect agents and their clients from the transmission of any pathogens. But the fact remains that shelter is still a basic need and that there always will be someone out there with their eye out on houses for sale in areas like North Charlotte, Huntersville, Ballantyne, Fort Mills, SC, Highland Creek, and Uptown in NC.
Here’s how selling a home is now being conducted in the time of COVID-19:
- Prep your home
This part of the process hasn’t changed much. You will need to get the house ready for it to look attractive when it appears in listings, social media, and other online pages. Here are the two things to do under this aspect:
- Staging. This includes cleaning, depersonalizing, and decluttering your home.
- Taking pictures AND videos. It’s not enough these days that you just take high-resolution pictures of whole sections of your home to feature online. Many also make walkthrough videos that lessen the need for home viewing. The videos also validate what is shown in the pictures.
- Have a home inspection conducted
This requirement usually falls on the buyer but it’s better to have this done on the home seller’s end. This way, you will know beforehand what needs fixing or replacement even before anyone makes an offer.
The standard inspection these days involves an inspector coming to the home dressed to the teeth in a hazmat suit and observing safety protocols.
Ideally, no one should be at home during the appraisal to avoid person-to-person contact. And once the inspector leaves, you have to disinfect areas that have been touched.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, alternative appraisals have been allowed where the inspector no longer has to enter the home. They can make a report based on drive-bys, exterior inspection, or results of a previous inspection done by another individual.
- Putting the right price tag on your home
This is another home selling aspect that hasn’t changed much. With the help of your real estate agent, you can have a comparative market analysis of similar homes sold in your area done. The average price of these homes is a good basis for pricing yours.
- Maximize use of the digital world for marketing your home
The transition to full-on internet marketing has been quite easy for the industry since many of the home buying and selling processes have already been done online. Even negotiations are now being done through video conferencing. Your real estate agent is your willing partner in making your home’s online presence count.
- Virtual home viewing is the way to go
The call for social distancing has discouraged person-to-person contact, thus, rendering the pre-pandemic open houses a no-go. The style these days is to have virtual home tours where potential buyers can watch a live walkthrough of the home and even get the opportunity to ask questions and make requests during the entirety of the tour. All these, they can do from the safety of their homes.
The ongoing health crisis shouldn’t scare you away from a great deal on your home. Get the best help for your home selling endeavor by consulting with the team of Valarie R. Brooks Real Estate. Call us at 704.488.5458 or send us an email at Valarie(at)ValarieRBrooks(dotted)com.