Updated on 5/6/2020
As communities develop ongoing responses and safeguards to the COVID-19 virus, Howard Hanna is dedicated to taking steps to reduce the spread of the virus while continuing to work with home sellers.
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other regulatory agencies in multiple states recommend the use of face masks and coverings. We believe that this is the best practice to follow in our offices, with clients, in group situations, and even where true social distancing can be achieved. As a result, masks or face coverings are required during any interactions with Howard Hanna’s agents.
We also recommend that you as a home seller use these tips to help keep yourself and others safe and healthy during the selling process:
❱ Utilize virtual services, such as video tours, whenever possible.
❱ Consider adjusting your open house hours and rules to best adhere to social distancing best practices. We specifically recommend only allowing showings by appointment; this ensures that only serious buyers enter your home and minimizes the amount of foot traffic from the general public in your home.
❱ Ask your agent to pre-screen buyers before they enter your home, and to only schedule visits for those with a low risk of exposure. Additionally, consider asking buyers to be preapproved by Howard Hanna Mortgage.
❱ Place a placard in the entry of your home requesting that any person who has recently been ill, or may have been in the company of someone who is suspected to have COVID-19, not enter your home.
❱ Provide easy-to-access hand sanitizer throughout your home.
❱ Leave interior doors open so that buyers who tour the home don’t have to touch the handles when entering rooms.
❱ Wipe down surfaces following every showing of your home, and disinfect your home with proper cleaning supplies after every open house.
❱ If you start to feel sick or learn that you have been in contact with someone suspected to have COVID-19, call your Howard Hanna agent to discuss your selling strategy moving forward.
To plan the best next steps for you, be sure to talk with your Howard Hanna agent to discuss your options in regard to concerns of COVID-19.
Good suggestion regarding leaving doors open. Don’t forget closet doors, access panels, jib doors, fuse panels, and other openings that a buyer may want to look into.