COVID-19 and your property questions answered
If you are in the process of putting your home on the market, you will no doubt be wondering what COVID-19 means for your home sale. Here are some common questions we are hearing right now. Please get in touch if you have more.
Can I still sell my house?
Yes. Homes continue to go on the market, but while different restrictions are in place in different states real estate agents will be leveraging more online tools to promote your property. If you are ready to sell your home, you can still do so.
Is now a good time to prepare my home for sale?
Absolutely. Getting your home ready for sale can be a surprisingly long-winded process, from decluttering and donating to cleaning, repainting and carrying out light renovations.
While some of you are spending more time in your home, use the time to start going through your belongings. Make note of what work you can do yourself, and what you’ll need to have done professionally. Many people are keeping busy by painting, gardening and doing long-overdue household chores.
By using this time you can look forward to a smoother, less stressful selling period. And as an added benefit, keeping busy and planning for the future are both great for your wellbeing at a stressful time.
How do I show people my home?
Most people these days start their property searches online, so in this respect, you will still be able to communicate to potential buyers about your home.
Photography and stylists are still able to work; however, you and visitors to your home will need to practise social distancing, wear masks (if required) and practise regular hand washing/sanitising.
How do buyers inspect a property if there’s no open home?
Open homes and on-site auctions were restricted by the federal government on the basis that they attracted crowds. Even though these restrictions have now been lifted, some sellers, buyers and renters are still cautious about the number of properties they inspect in person.
Remember, it is still possible to conduct private inspections on a one-to-one basis. In Dubbo we have been conducting a lot more one on one appointments in the past few weeks.
We’re still finding plenty of interest from buyers but where necessary we’ve adopted the practice of recording property walk-through videos using mobile technologies for buyers where necessary.
We’re also able to ascertain each person’s circumstances and provide interested parties with a physical viewing of the property as and when it is clear that they are in a financial position to purchase.
Providing extensive information in the form of photographs, including pre-recorded videos by videographers and virtual inspections filmed on smartphones means that there are plenty of ways for homebuyers to interact with your property.
Are people still buying homes?
Yes. People will always need to put their home on the market and, with interest rates at record lows, it’s a great time to buy.
There are many reasons why people need to sell. These include separation, divorce, to be closer to family or for work reasons. Some might be looking for a sea or tree change, be downsizing to save money or be moving for work or study. So as you can see, there remains plenty of reasons behind people continuing to buy and sell property.
While there might be a slight short-term dip in listings, this also means less competition, which is an excellent opportunity for motivated sellers.
Now is a really good time for home owners to be putting their property on the market, homes are selling quickly in Dubbo and stock levels are low.
Can I rent my property? How will you find tenants?
Yes. We can list your property for rent and start taking calls and managing viewings much in the same way as we described selling a home above. Viewings for potential tenants can be conducted in virtual form or arranged as a private one-to-one inspection with our leasing consultant.
However, be aware that at present both the market and rules for rental properties are changing rapidly, so please give us a call if you have a property for which you need to find a tenant, and we will update you on the latest guidelines and how these will affect you.
If you would like to have a chat about your real estate needs please phone me anytime on 0427 465 543 or email kim@rhdubbo.com.au.
