Follow Our Sellers Checklist To Stay Safe While Selling Your Home

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Staying organized while uprooting your life and moving from one home to another can feel impossible. Not only are you trying to get the best financial return on your investment, but you might also be working on a tight deadline. There’s also the pressure to keep your home clean and organized at all times for prospective buyers. However, one thing you can be sure of when selling your home is that there will be strangers entering your space, so it’s important for you and your agent to take certain safety precautions. Like so many things in life, they can feel more manageable once written down, so we made this handy checklist.

 

  • Go through your medicine cabinets and remove all prescription medications.
  • Remove or lock up precious belongings and personal information. You will want to store your jewelry, family heirlooms, and personal/financial information in a secure location to keep them from getting misplaced or stolen.
  • Remove family photos. We recommend removing your family photos during the staging process so potential buyers can see themselves living in the home. It’s also a good way to protect your privacy.
  • Check your windows and doors for secure closings before and after showings. If someone is looking to get back into your home following a showing or an open house, they will look for weak locks or they might unlock a window or door.
  • Consider extra security measures such as an alarm system or other monitoring tools like cameras.
  • Don’t show your own home! If someone you don’t know walks up to your home asking for a showing, don’t let them in. You want to have an agent present to show your home at all times. Agents should have screening precautions to keep you and them safe from potential danger.

 

Talk to your agent about the following safety precautions: 

  • Do a walk-through with your agent to make sure you have identified everything that needs to be removed or secured, such as medications, belongings, and photos.
  • Go over your agent’s screening process:
    • Phone screening prior to showing the home
    • Process for identifying and qualifying buyers for showings
    • Their personal safety during showings and open houses
  • Lockboxes to secure your keys for showings should be up to date. Electronic lockboxes actually track who has had access to your home.
  • Work with your agent on an open house checklist:
    • Do they collect contact information of everyone entering the home?
    • Do they work with a partner to ensure their personal safety?
  • Go through your home’s entrances and exits and share important household information so your agent can advise how to secure your property while it’s on the market.

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Matthew Gardner Weekly COVID-19 Housing & Economic Update: 5/11/2020

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Job growth is critical to the health of the housing market, so on this week’s episode of “Mondays with Matthew,”  Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner analyzes the effect of COVID-19 on employment and what we can expect for the duration of the year.

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What the Numbers Say

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April represents the first time we can look at the impact of COVID-19 on a full month of real estate activity.

To no one’s surprise, activity in April in terms of closings and new contracts did slow significantly.

Much of this slowing was caused by in person showings not being allowed for most of the month.

(showings are now allowed again by following Safe Showings protocols)

Here’s what the numbers say…

Closed transactions were down compared to April 2019

  • 26% in Northern Colorado (Larimer & Weld)
  • 27% in Metro Denver

New written purchase agreements were down compared to April 2020

  • 48% in Northern Colorado
  • 44% in Metro Denver

So, while activity did slow, there was nothing resembling a “screeching halt” that took place.

While the way property is shown has certainly changed, the market is still very active and we expect activity to increase even more with showings now being allowed again.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Safer at Home and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are following our Safe Showings protocol, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

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Another Meltdown?

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This week our Chief Economist took a deep dive into the numbers to examine the current health crisis versus the housing crisis of 2008.

The reason why?  People wonder if we are going to have another housing meltdown nationally and going to see foreclosures and short sales dramatically increase.

It turns out that the numbers show that today’s housing environment is quite different than 2007, right before the housing bubble burst.

Specifically, homeowners are in a vastly different situation with their mortgage compared to the pre-Great Recession’s housing meltdown.

In addition to much higher credit scores and much higher amounts of equity compared to 2007, the most significant difference today is in the amount of ARM mortgages.

Back in years leading up to the housing bubble, Adjustable Rate Mortgages were very prevalent.  In 2007 there were just under 13 million active adjustable rate loans, today there are just over 3 million.

The number of those ARMs that would reset within three years was 5 million in 2007 compared to only 320,000 today.

It’s those Adjustable Rate loans resetting to a higher monthly payment that caused such a big part of the housing crisis back in 2008 to 2010.

Back then not only was people’s employment impacted, but many were facing increased monthly mortgage payments.

That’s why there were so many foreclosures and short sales in 2008 to 2010.

That is not the case today and one of many reasons why we don’t foresee a housing meltdown.

 

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All In, For Community Amid COVID-19

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Over the past few weeks, as the effects of COVID-19 have spread to everywhere Windermere has offices, we have seen an outpouring of support from our agents and offices in their local communities, embodying what it means to be All In, For You. 

The Bellevue, WA-based Windermere Real Estate East Inc. offices have been all in for their community in recent weeks by organizing “Feed the Front Lines.” This effort has raised upwards of $9,000, with many members volunteering their time to help pick-up and deliver much-needed meals to the medical professionals at a local hospital. So far, they have scheduled six shifts of lunch and dinner deliveries, totaling 415 meals. They have reached out further into the community, collecting donations for local small businesses that have been forced to close.

Windermere agent Chris Gaines—based in Boise, Idaho with the Windermere Powerhouse Group—was inspired to deliver food and other necessities to the elderly in his neighborhood. Chris and his family spent the day visiting local grocery stores and gathering supplies to make care packages. After divvying everything up, they safely delivered the care packages to neighbors, who were sincerely grateful. “It was clear by the excitement of some of them that we were the first to have visited since all of this began,” said Chris of his neighbors.

In other cities where Windermere operates, such as Palm Springs, agents are volunteering to buy and deliver groceries for the local elderly population who are currently unable to leave home due to the threat of COVID-19.

On Maui, the local Windermere office is routing Windermere Foundation donations to a local food bank. On top of that, they will provide that same food bank with a donation from each closed home sale over the next 60 days. Agents on Maui are also volunteering to prepare grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals for kids at the Kihei Charter School.

In Nevada, the mother-son team of Reba St. Clair & Devone Donley are providing delivery services free of charge to their neighbors throughout the Lake Las Vegas area. They are picking up prescriptions and performing food deliveries, making themselves a dependable resource to their community.

The Seattle-area offices that make up Windermere Wall Street recently donated $2,000 to Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI) to aid in the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as surgical masks. RAI’s mission is to transform the lives of refugee and immigrant women by providing sustainable work in sewing and handcrafting goods.

As our agents and offices have proven time and time again, together we can make a difference. We will continue to share these uplifting stories of support for our communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

All In, For Community. All In, For You.

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What Does It Mean to Be All In?

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What does it mean to be “All in”?

At Windermere, it means our agents love what they do, acting beyond themselves, and being there when it counts. During these uncertain times, we want you to know that our agents are more focused than ever on taking care of their clients and helping them move their dreams forward.

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Celebrating Earth Day at Home

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This year’s Earth Day will certainly look different than in years past. With no large gatherings, marches or events, most of us find ourselves celebrating from home. Fortunately, when it comes to reducing your footprint or assessing the eco-friendliness of your lifestyle, your living space is a great place to start. Here are some tips for celebrating Earth Day from home.

 

Outside the house:

The combination of spring weather and current shelter and stay-at-home orders have created a gardening renaissance. With April being gardening month and the amount of time we find ourselves spending at home these days, now is the perfect time to start (or get back to) your garden.

 

  • Kick up your composting efforts or build out a composting area in your garden.
  • Get started with a nature DIY project, like a garden shed or planter boxes.
  • Make your garden your own escape. This is more important now than ever, for your health and the health of your household.

 

Around the house:

 

  • Perform a plastic audit of your home.
    • Take count of the plastic items used in your kitchen and bathroom and rethink their necessity.
  • Get in the habit of turning lights off when you leave a room.
    • Little by little this can add up and is an easy green practice for Earth Day and beyond.
  • Turn off the faucet when you aren’t using it.
  • Unplug your appliances after using them.
    • They still use energy even when they aren’t turned on.
  • Turning off phones, tablets, and computers at night will save energy.
  • Use cold water to wash your laundry.
    • This sidesteps any of the energy your machine uses to heat water—which is a large percentage of their energy output.
  • Add plants.
    • This has a myriad of benefits for both your health and your wallet.
    • Plants are known to reduce stress and regulate temperature, which saves on the energy required to heat and cool your house.

 

By doing these little things around the house you can maximize your Earth Day impact and get an idea of how you can incorporate them into your lifestyle as time goes on.

 

Educate:

Earth Day carries educational significance as well. Learning more about our planet and how we can do our part in its health moving forward is an important aspect of the holiday.

 

  • Though you may not be able to attend a lecture in person, there are a bevy of virtual options to participate in Earth Day learning and planetary education. Discuss with your family what actions you can take to make a difference in your household.
  • Add a nature documentary or series to your watchlist.
  • Travel from home with virtual tours of national parks and natural wonders.
  • Try some new cookbooks. For Earth Day-centric food ideas, look for cookbooks with plant-based recipes.

 

Homeowners everywhere have established an evolved relationship with their homes in recent weeks. Spending time thinking about the footprint of your household and how it allows you to make eco-friendly choices is a worthy investment for Earth Day and beyond.

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Special Event

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On Wednesday April 22nd you are invited to a special online event with Windermere’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.

He will be giving his insights into the U.S. economy and what that means for real estate along the Front Range of Colorado.

You will hear the answers to the biggest questions we are hearing from clients now like “do you think housing prices will crash?”

This event is exclusively for clients and friends of Windermere Real Estate. To receive the registration link simply reply to this email or reach out to your Windermere real estate broker.

Many of you have heard Matthew speak at our Market Forecast events we hold each year in January. He is famous for making complex economic dynamics very simple to understand.

You will get useful and valuable information which will give you clarity about where the market is headed and when we can expect the economy to improve.

For example Matthew predicts unemployment to hit 15% by the end of June, but then to improve to 8% by year-end and 6% by this time next year.

Again, if you would like the link just reply to this email or reach out to your Windermere broker.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Shelter in Place and Social Distancing very seriously.  Our people are working at home, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

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Inventory Drop

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An impact we expected from COVID-19 to the housing market is reduced inventory.  That prediction is certainly proving to be true.

In March, the number of withdrawn properties from the MLS went up 68% in Larimer County and 38% in Weld when compared to March 2019.

Reduced inventory is one reason why we don’t expect a significant drop in home prices in 2020.  We don’t see a glut of housing supply dragging prices down.

So how are properties being sold now?  Virtually!  We are helping people view homes using virtual 3D Tours and live online walk-throughs.

Our business right now is certainly not business as usual and our industry has proven to be resourceful so we can still help people with urgent real estate needs.

At Windermere Real Estate we are taking Shelter in Place and Social Distancing very seriously. Our people are working from home, staying connected to their clients, and providing help wherever needed.

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Health Crisis not Housing Crisis

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Here is the latest video from our Chief Economist Matthew Gardner.  It’s full of great nuggets about what is happening in the economy and the real estate market today.  Just click the image below to play the video.

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