Stuck at home with the COVID19 situation? Here’s a way to continue your hunt for a new house safely and effectively.
We are all impacted by the worldwide pandemic facing us now and how COVID-19 is changing our lives. Ordinary life is basically on hold. You’ve probably been spending more time in your home than ever before. Even if you have not been thinking about moving, you might be realizing that your current home lacks needed space or amenities.
The purpose of this guide is to inform you about some opportunities that will allow you to start or continue working on home buying goals.
The good news is, there are some things you can do that will help move you along – safely!
Check out these steps you can take to look for a house and get a safe showing during the COVID-19 crisis:
1. Look for Houses Online
You might already be doing that anyway, but now as you search you will want to get more and more focused on precisely the sort of home you will be most happy with. Prioritize homes that are absolutely the closest to meeting your particular needs.
2. Get a Pre-Approval Letter
Unless you are planning to buy property with cash, you will need a loan. It is critical to get pre-approved for the amount you will need for a purchase at this stage, if you have not already done so. This can be done online or by phone, so there is no need to leave your house. But you will want to secure documentation that you will be able to get a loan for the amount needed for your desired purchase.
3. Find a Real Estate Broker (the official name for a real estate agent in Illinois) to Represent YOU, the buyer
This relationship can be particularly helpful now if you want to take advantage of the opportunities available for continuing your search from the safety of your home.
Take advantage of the trends now in social distancing to have virtual meetings with your agent in order to discuss plans and strategies for moving forward. Many options for both phone and computer exist to meet this way (for example Zoom, Facetime, Skype, etc.)
Make sure you communicate your priorities in searching for a home to your real estate broker, who can then set up an automatic search feed that will send new market information to you as soon as it is available.
With your particular requirements in mind, your real estate broker can also let you know about properties that are not yet publicly on the market, but are soon to be for sale.
4. Virtually Tour Homes of Serious Interest to you
Once you have identified a home that you believe could be a winner for you, have your real estate broker arrange a personal virtual tour.
The way this works is that you and your real estate broker determine the best vehicle for the tour (i.e Zoom or Facetime or whatever app works for you both.)
Your real estate broker will schedule a showing for a specific day and time. When the time comes, you will connect via a link that your real estate broker will email or text to you; once you follow that link, you will be able to see your broker at the house being toured.
Your real estate broker will walk you through every room of the house, pausing and answering any questions that arise as you view all the rooms live.
NOTE: the virtual tour option is an excellent way for you to remotely tour a home. However – there may be some owners who do not feel comfortable letting ANYONE in their house right now. Be that as it may, by taking all expected precautions, most sellers would prefer to allow this safe way to show their homes.
5. Next Steps
At this point, after a virtual tour, you may decide that house is not for you. In this case, continue to search in the manner recommended above.
Once you find a property that you are seriously interested in buying, you will most likely want to see it in person. If it’s “the one” you’ll want to work with your real estate broker to submit an offer. Offers can easily be written, signed and submitted online. Once accepted, you will need to formally apply for a loan, select a real estate attorney, get the house inspected, etc.
The coordination and execution of these steps is definitely more complicated with the COVID-19 restrictions, but this can still be done.
An experienced real estate broker is more important now than ever to help manage all this.
Conclusion
The process of finding and buying a new home is more difficult and complicated in these times, but you do not need to come to a full stop. With the help your real estate broker you can still make progress in your search and you can virtually tour homes that best meet your new home requirements.
Team Barnett would love to be the real estate brokers to represent you.
We are Accredited Buyer Representatives which means that we have specialized training in the business of representing real estate buyer-clients.
We are committed to overcoming the obstacles newly introduced with the COVID-19 pandemic and to helping you move forward.
We also have excellent recommendations for lenders, real estate attorneys and home inspectors. We offer a coordinated effort with ongoing communication between everyone involved in the real estate transaction.
Your dream home is out there…let us help you find it!