![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/showing-house-to-buyers-for-sale-coronavirus-phone.png\")
<\/a>Work with your agent to capture your home digitally<\/h2>\n
Video and photography will be your friend during this time. If you\u2019ve come to the conclusion that your family is safer if nobody comes into your home (not even your agent or a photographer), then you need to be able to DIY your listing materials, and work with your agent to send it out to where the buyers can view it.<\/p>\n
Start by whipping your home into presentable shape<\/h3>\n\n- Deep clean<\/a>, declutter<\/a>, and tidy up your home. Remove most items from the countertops, save a few decorative and intentional pieces. Your home can look lived in, but you should be presenting a style buyers are aspiring to have.<\/li>\n
- Increase your visible floor space by removing extraneous furniture like side tables, boxes, and toy baskets for the kids. Put these items in closets, basement storage, or in the garage in an organized fashion.<\/li>\n
- Add some color with throw pillows<\/a>, green plants like ferns (you can order faux varieties online for staging purposes<\/a>), colorful flowers<\/a> in vibrant vases<\/a>, and pretty bowls filled with real fruit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now, the following tasks are normally left to the pros \u2014 but again, these aren\u2019t normal times. Luckily you can lean into your agent\u2019s (virtual) guidance on how to:<\/p>\n
Take your own listing photos (which can work for video slideshows, too)<\/h3>\n
Todd Ruckle<\/a>, a top-selling real estate agent in Brookside, Delaware<\/a>, has been coaching sellers who aren’t comfortable with having anyone inside the home on how to take their own listing photos<\/a> using their iPhone camera. These images can also be used to create a video slideshow in the event that a video walkthrough isn’t feasible, Ruckle says. Here are a few basic tips to up your DIY photography game:<\/p>\n\n- Use a tripod to provide a stable platform and reduce camera shake. This basic tripod on Amazon is $12<\/a>, available on Prime, and works with smartphones.<\/li>\n
- Avoid reflections and glare in mirrors, windows, and shower doors. Retake any photos with these issues.<\/li>\n
- Turn on all the lights and open all blinds or curtains for your photo shoot. Pick a time of day where there\u2019s enough sunlight to illuminate areas around windows while avoiding the long shadows that appear in the early morning or late afternoon.<\/li>\n
- Use props to show the scale<\/a> of unused spaces. For example, get out your deck furniture to demonstrate the size of your patio.<\/li>\n
- Take several pictures of each room and get different angles. Your agent can help select your best shots.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Once Ruckle receives the photos from the seller, he submits them to BoxBrownie<\/a>, a professional real estate photo editing company, for retouching. The service takes the original pictures and puts them through a 16-step enhancement process that includes: white balance, image sharpening, blemish removal, lens distortion correction, brightness and contrast adjustment, outdoor sky replacement (for the \u201ctwilight\u201d effect), lawn enhancement and flash reflection removal, among other services.<\/p>\nRecord your own video walkthrough<\/b><\/h3>\n
Ruckle admits that videos are a bit more complicated for a seller to master. The camera angle and the camera movement can be tricky for a newbie to fine tune.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a specific way of holding the phone, and you need to move your entire body when you move the camera, otherwise you get that funhouse effect that makes you dizzy,\u201d he says. To edit videos, there are a variety of free or low cost apps like Animoto<\/a>, Wistia<\/a> or LumaFusion<\/a> that don\u2019t require editing experience.<\/p>\nHere are a few tips to succeed at making your own video walkthrough:<\/p>\n
\n- Look at a lot of existing real estate video walkthroughs for inspiration. YouTube and real estate brokerage websites are a great place to start your research.<\/li>\n
- Plan your route beforehand, even if it\u2019s just a list of the shots you want to take. To give buyers an authentic tour experience, start with showing off your curb appeal, then enter the front door and begin your walkthrough of the inside.<\/li>\n
- Consult a variety of online tutorials like \u201cHow to make awesome listing videos<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHow to shoot real estate videos<\/a>\u201d that will provide you with the main steps for creating DIY video tours.<\/li>\n
- Set your phone to Airplane mode while the camera\u2019s rolling \u2014 you\u2019d hate to get a call or text while taking the perfect footage, and have to reshoot.<\/li>\n
- Ask your agent for more guidance!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Add a self-navigable 3-D dollhouse tour to your listing<\/h3>\n
Technology platforms like Matterport<\/a> allow real estate agents and other industry service providers to create a 3-D rendition of your home so buyers can get a better feel for how the home is laid out spatially, as well as which rooms are located on which floors. Matterport provides a special camera to create different representations of your home including dollhouse views, room measurements, and schematic floor plans that you can attach to your listing online.<\/p>\nHowever, use of this technology will require that you at least let your agent into your home to capture the necessary imagery. Talk to your agent about what you’re comfortable with. Hall says he has met with a seller while social distancing \u2014 in a garage while remaining 8 feet apart \u2014 exchanged a disinfected set of keys, and went in the house to do his Matterport capture for 3 or so hours. He brought with him booties, a mask, gloves, and disinfecting wipes.<\/p>\n
He asked the seller to leave all the lights on and interior doors open to minimize getting in contact with any surfaces and cleaned up after he was done. \u201cIt\u2019s not the easiest thing to do, but it is worth it if it means we can stay safe and also sell this house,\u201d Hall says.<\/p>\n
Use your virtual assets to promote your listing<\/h3>\n
When your digital assets are ready to go, most MLSs have a field to upload them directly into the listing. With current coronavirus concerns, some MLSs are relaxing their rules and allowing the promotion of (unbranded) virtual tours<\/a> in the listing\u2019s public remarks to encourage virtual shopping.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/showing-house-to-buyers-for-sale-coronavirus-tour-666x381.png\")
<\/a><\/a> Source: (Mia Baker \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHost a virtual open house or walkthrough in real time with your agent\u2019s help<\/h2>\n
If you don\u2019t want to allow buyers into your home, but you are comfortable with your agent being there, a virtual open house is another good middle ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen houses have \u2014 for the most part \u2014 been replaced with Facebook Watch Parties<\/a>,\u201d says Tom Hall<\/a>, a top-selling agent in Oklahoma City<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe feature \u2014 which allows a number of different users to share a live video through all their profiles and with their friends and followers \u2014 enables Hall to feature a home and answer live questions from the audience.<\/p>\n
The watch parties are a free Facebook service and, according to Hall, will be available for up to 5 hours on the platform. That means even though the live portion of the party lasts for an hour, other people can join later and watch the saved version. He says live traffic is between 15-30 viewers in the live portion and will usually grow to on average 80 viewers before it expires.<\/p>\n
For Ruckle, open houses \u2014 even the virtual variety \u2014 are canceled for the time being. With Delaware being extremely strict in real estate marketing at the moment, any video tours must be one-on-one with a prospective buyer and cannot be promoted openly on any social channels. Ruckle uses this time to go several times into a room, open every closet and drawer, and answer any and all questions the buyer might have.<\/p>\n![\"Cleaning](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/showing-house-to-buyers-for-sale-coronavirus-clean-666x381.png\")
<\/a><\/a> Source: (Kelly Sikkema \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIf you must show your house, here\u2019s what to do<\/h2>\n
Ruckle and Hall agree that interested buyers are going to want to have a chance to see the property in person before committing to writing an offer. However, it\u2019s your house. So you have control over how you want to show it.<\/p>\n
If you want to stop in-person showings and see what your listing could generate virtually, work with your agent to express your request to halt showings in writing<\/a>. Your agent, at that point, may opt to add an addendum to extend the listing knowing that it might take a bit longer to attract an offer, according to the National Association of Realtors.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re onboard with a limited number of showings so long as they are conducted as safely as possible \u2014 and if home showings are still allowed in your state \u2014 use the following protocols:<\/p>\n
Have your agent pre-vet buyers before they can book a tour. <\/b><\/h4>\n
Normally a quick glance at the photos is enough for a buyer to decide if they want to schedule a showing. However, as a seller you\u2019ll want to avoid the hassles and unnecessary risk that comes with letting unqualified or non-serious buyers inside your home amid a pandemic.<\/p>\n
Since the arrival of coronavirus, agents are double-checking if a house is truly a good fit before scheduling a showing<\/a>. Hall says he will pull up the location on Google maps and talk to buyers about things like high traffic streets or distance to the closest school or park to eliminate buyers who won\u2019t find the home to be a solid match.<\/p>\nHe uses virtual tours<\/a> to help a buyer determine whether the layout flows in the way they prefer, or uses Matterport to virtually measure whether the buyer\u2019s furniture fits in the rooms.<\/p>\nIf the buyer is extremely interested in a listing \u2014 in many cases not only pre-qualified but also pre-approved or with a cash letter in hand \u2014 real estate teams are working hard to ensure safety for everyone showing houses during coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Limit the number of people who can enter.<\/h4>\n
Buyers shouldn\u2019t bring their kids, and ideally only one of them should enter at a time. The other can wait from the car and get updates via FaceTime.<\/p>\n
Have everyone sign a COVID-19 certification prior showings.<\/h4>\n
In some states, agents are using a special form<\/a> to be signed by all parties present at a showing \u2014 this includes any agents, sellers, as well as the potential buyers \u2014 representing that, to the best of their knowledge, they are not infected with and have not been exposed to the coronavirus.<\/p>\nRequire that visitors take hygenic precautions.<\/h4>\n
Ask that anyone who enters protective gear such as masks, booties, and gloves<\/a>, and that they sanitize their hands before entering.<\/p>\nPrepare the home for minimal touching.<\/b><\/h4>\n
Leave all the interior doors open, open up closets and cabinets, and turn on all the lights to minimize touching of surfaces.<\/p>\n
Clean and disinfect before and after a showing. <\/b><\/h4>\n
While most agents and buyers are coming in taking a certain level of protective measures, the CDC still recommends preventing exposure<\/a> as the number one way to protect yourself from getting sick. Some of the things you should do when showing a house for sale this season are:<\/p>\n\n- Ensure you\u2019re washing your hands often<\/li>\n
- Use hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol and rub your hands until they feel dry.<\/li>\n
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces<\/a> immediately after every showing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Follow health guidelines from the CDC<\/a> and use cleaning products approved by the EPA for fighting against the virus<\/a>.<\/p>\nCan you attract an offer with limited or restricted showings?<\/h3>\n
According to Ruckle, this crisis hasn\u2019t deterred buyers in the under-$250k bracket yet. Houses in Delaware are still selling fast as long as mortgage brokers can process the transactions and the inventory remains low in that high-traffic price point. Hall, in Oklahoma City, is pretty optimistic that sales will continue to happen in his area \u2014 as long as real estate continues to be deemed essential there \u2014 and is bullish about his ability to close a listing as long as he can do private showings to potential buyers.<\/p>\n
Now, the following tasks are normally left to the pros \u2014 but again, these aren\u2019t normal times. Luckily you can lean into your agent\u2019s (virtual) guidance on how to:<\/p>\n
Take your own listing photos (which can work for video slideshows, too)<\/h3>\n
Todd Ruckle<\/a>, a top-selling real estate agent in Brookside, Delaware<\/a>, has been coaching sellers who aren’t comfortable with having anyone inside the home on how to take their own listing photos<\/a> using their iPhone camera. These images can also be used to create a video slideshow in the event that a video walkthrough isn’t feasible, Ruckle says. Here are a few basic tips to up your DIY photography game:<\/p>\n Once Ruckle receives the photos from the seller, he submits them to BoxBrownie<\/a>, a professional real estate photo editing company, for retouching. The service takes the original pictures and puts them through a 16-step enhancement process that includes: white balance, image sharpening, blemish removal, lens distortion correction, brightness and contrast adjustment, outdoor sky replacement (for the \u201ctwilight\u201d effect), lawn enhancement and flash reflection removal, among other services.<\/p>\n Ruckle admits that videos are a bit more complicated for a seller to master. The camera angle and the camera movement can be tricky for a newbie to fine tune.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a specific way of holding the phone, and you need to move your entire body when you move the camera, otherwise you get that funhouse effect that makes you dizzy,\u201d he says. To edit videos, there are a variety of free or low cost apps like Animoto<\/a>, Wistia<\/a> or LumaFusion<\/a> that don\u2019t require editing experience.<\/p>\n Here are a few tips to succeed at making your own video walkthrough:<\/p>\n Technology platforms like Matterport<\/a> allow real estate agents and other industry service providers to create a 3-D rendition of your home so buyers can get a better feel for how the home is laid out spatially, as well as which rooms are located on which floors. Matterport provides a special camera to create different representations of your home including dollhouse views, room measurements, and schematic floor plans that you can attach to your listing online.<\/p>\n However, use of this technology will require that you at least let your agent into your home to capture the necessary imagery. Talk to your agent about what you’re comfortable with. Hall says he has met with a seller while social distancing \u2014 in a garage while remaining 8 feet apart \u2014 exchanged a disinfected set of keys, and went in the house to do his Matterport capture for 3 or so hours. He brought with him booties, a mask, gloves, and disinfecting wipes.<\/p>\n He asked the seller to leave all the lights on and interior doors open to minimize getting in contact with any surfaces and cleaned up after he was done. \u201cIt\u2019s not the easiest thing to do, but it is worth it if it means we can stay safe and also sell this house,\u201d Hall says.<\/p>\n When your digital assets are ready to go, most MLSs have a field to upload them directly into the listing. With current coronavirus concerns, some MLSs are relaxing their rules and allowing the promotion of (unbranded) virtual tours<\/a> in the listing\u2019s public remarks to encourage virtual shopping.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want to allow buyers into your home, but you are comfortable with your agent being there, a virtual open house is another good middle ground.<\/p>\n \u201cOpen houses have \u2014 for the most part \u2014 been replaced with Facebook Watch Parties<\/a>,\u201d says Tom Hall<\/a>, a top-selling agent in Oklahoma City<\/a>.<\/p>\n The feature \u2014 which allows a number of different users to share a live video through all their profiles and with their friends and followers \u2014 enables Hall to feature a home and answer live questions from the audience.<\/p>\n The watch parties are a free Facebook service and, according to Hall, will be available for up to 5 hours on the platform. That means even though the live portion of the party lasts for an hour, other people can join later and watch the saved version. He says live traffic is between 15-30 viewers in the live portion and will usually grow to on average 80 viewers before it expires.<\/p>\n For Ruckle, open houses \u2014 even the virtual variety \u2014 are canceled for the time being. With Delaware being extremely strict in real estate marketing at the moment, any video tours must be one-on-one with a prospective buyer and cannot be promoted openly on any social channels. Ruckle uses this time to go several times into a room, open every closet and drawer, and answer any and all questions the buyer might have.<\/p>\n Ruckle and Hall agree that interested buyers are going to want to have a chance to see the property in person before committing to writing an offer. However, it\u2019s your house. So you have control over how you want to show it.<\/p>\n If you want to stop in-person showings and see what your listing could generate virtually, work with your agent to express your request to halt showings in writing<\/a>. Your agent, at that point, may opt to add an addendum to extend the listing knowing that it might take a bit longer to attract an offer, according to the National Association of Realtors.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re onboard with a limited number of showings so long as they are conducted as safely as possible \u2014 and if home showings are still allowed in your state \u2014 use the following protocols:<\/p>\n Normally a quick glance at the photos is enough for a buyer to decide if they want to schedule a showing. However, as a seller you\u2019ll want to avoid the hassles and unnecessary risk that comes with letting unqualified or non-serious buyers inside your home amid a pandemic.<\/p>\n Since the arrival of coronavirus, agents are double-checking if a house is truly a good fit before scheduling a showing<\/a>. Hall says he will pull up the location on Google maps and talk to buyers about things like high traffic streets or distance to the closest school or park to eliminate buyers who won\u2019t find the home to be a solid match.<\/p>\n He uses virtual tours<\/a> to help a buyer determine whether the layout flows in the way they prefer, or uses Matterport to virtually measure whether the buyer\u2019s furniture fits in the rooms.<\/p>\n If the buyer is extremely interested in a listing \u2014 in many cases not only pre-qualified but also pre-approved or with a cash letter in hand \u2014 real estate teams are working hard to ensure safety for everyone showing houses during coronavirus.<\/p>\n Buyers shouldn\u2019t bring their kids, and ideally only one of them should enter at a time. The other can wait from the car and get updates via FaceTime.<\/p>\n In some states, agents are using a special form<\/a> to be signed by all parties present at a showing \u2014 this includes any agents, sellers, as well as the potential buyers \u2014 representing that, to the best of their knowledge, they are not infected with and have not been exposed to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n Ask that anyone who enters protective gear such as masks, booties, and gloves<\/a>, and that they sanitize their hands before entering.<\/p>\n Leave all the interior doors open, open up closets and cabinets, and turn on all the lights to minimize touching of surfaces.<\/p>\n While most agents and buyers are coming in taking a certain level of protective measures, the CDC still recommends preventing exposure<\/a> as the number one way to protect yourself from getting sick. Some of the things you should do when showing a house for sale this season are:<\/p>\n Follow health guidelines from the CDC<\/a> and use cleaning products approved by the EPA for fighting against the virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Ruckle, this crisis hasn\u2019t deterred buyers in the under-$250k bracket yet. Houses in Delaware are still selling fast as long as mortgage brokers can process the transactions and the inventory remains low in that high-traffic price point. Hall, in Oklahoma City, is pretty optimistic that sales will continue to happen in his area \u2014 as long as real estate continues to be deemed essential there \u2014 and is bullish about his ability to close a listing as long as he can do private showings to potential buyers.<\/p>\n\n
Record your own video walkthrough<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Add a self-navigable 3-D dollhouse tour to your listing<\/h3>\n
Use your virtual assets to promote your listing<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Host a virtual open house or walkthrough in real time with your agent\u2019s help<\/h2>\n
<\/a>If you must show your house, here\u2019s what to do<\/h2>\n
Have your agent pre-vet buyers before they can book a tour. <\/b><\/h4>\n
Limit the number of people who can enter.<\/h4>\n
Have everyone sign a COVID-19 certification prior showings.<\/h4>\n
Require that visitors take hygenic precautions.<\/h4>\n
Prepare the home for minimal touching.<\/b><\/h4>\n
Clean and disinfect before and after a showing. <\/b><\/h4>\n
\n
Can you attract an offer with limited or restricted showings?<\/h3>\n