Let me begin with prayers from my family to yours for your safety and health during this time. Here are 6 New Normal Tips for Buyers and Sellers and they’re important because we are in uncharted waters here. Certainly in my near 40 years in the business, I’ve never seen anything like this. Not even the 9/11 crisis or the economic crash of 2008 has prepared us for this! One truth though we should focus on … “This Too Shall Pass” and what we can not control, we give to God.

Another truth is that people still have needs to buy and sell. Sale volume in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, South Torrance and West Torrance is down about 40% for March 2020 vs March 2019; but SALES STILL ARE HAPPENING!

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Here are 6 new normal tips for buyers and sellers

Here’s what you should understand when it comes to buying and selling Palos Verdes homes or Beach Cities real estate.

1) The buying and selling environment, simply put, has changed

A lot of buyers feel that sellers and agents should be rolling out the red carpet for them. While that might be true in some cases, it sure isn’t in all. I’ve seen properties in the last couple of weeks, priced right, that have sold with multiple offers and at list price.

Remember too that not every seller may be comfortable with “strangers” going into their home. Your exposure becomes their exposure. You might be required to remove shoes, leave unnecessary items outside, use hand sanitizer before entering and you also might be asked to not touch ANYTHING. This might seem like an imposition, but as the Seller doesn’t know what you’ve touched before entering their home, you don’t know what they’ve touched, so this procedure is best for all.

If you’re a seller, given the fact that buyers are even MORE likely to browse online (even more COVID-19, over 90% of buyers saw the home they bought online – and this is an entire whole different discussion when considering who to choose as your marketing broker) it’s a good idea, even before you list your home, to shoot a video with your smartphone as you walk around the home so that you can point out how you’ve enjoyed your home and neighborhood, what you like most about your home and features and benefits that might not be readily apparent by a buyer merely looking at pictures. Then send that video to your broker. Alternatively, your broker can shoot video but during “stay at home” order, you must might be more comfortable doing this yourself.

As a seller, it’s not a bad idea to list your home during this time as there are fewer sellers against whom you would compete and you could be in prime position to benefit from the surge in pent up demand once stay at home directives are lifted. Like I said, “this too shall pass”.

2)The transaction will likely be one of conformity to social distancing

Buyers should be prepared that they will be asked to take their own cars to appointments. And it is permissible for brokers to ask Buyers questions about exposure to COVID-19 before meeting. For example, I use this form.

Remember too that open houses are totally off the table

3) Now is not the time to try to take advantage

Here’s another one of the 6 New Normal Tips for Buyers and Sellers … Lots of buyers feel tempted to throw in low ball offers or feel entitled in certain ways. That’s penny wise and pound foolish behavior because while buyers should certainly negotiate, rubbing salt in the would of what’s already a tough time for everyone, will just blow back on you as a buyer and all you will accomplish is poisoning the water of negotiation.

Instead, make a fair offer; you will get further with a seller that way versus starting ridiculously low. This will likely result in a seller responding in a more conciliatory manner.

4) Delays to closing escrow will happen

Everything is getting postponed; weddings, graduations parties etc etc. So too are escrows. There are lots of moving parts to every real estate transaction and each one of these will take a bit more time; that includes inspections and appraisals as well as loan processing.

Buyers might benefit in price negotiations by allowing a Seller In Possession for up to 29 days after the close. One of the things you can do to mitigate delays is to implement the rule of the “5 Ps” … Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance and in that vein, invariably the question of “How much house can I afford?” comes up. To help with that, I strongly recommend have a phone, or live stream video consult appointment with a good mortgage banker (contact me if you don’t have anyone). Meanwhile, the people at Money.com emailed me to ask that share this link with you, and it’s titled, no surprise, “How Much House Can I Afford?”

5) Adjust your expectations and roll with it

Stay calm; these are unpredictable times and the better you can “roll with it”, the less stress you will have on a life event, buying or selling a home, that is already heavy with stress.

6) Accept that you and your agent may not have all the answers

The last of my 6 New Normal Tips for Buyers and Sellers is about the nature of uncharted waters. So don’t panic and don’t blame the messenger … your broker … everyone is doing the best they can during these times. This means staying the course and not reacting in a knee-jerk manner to every headline or “breaking news” update. It’s all breaking news, no matter the channel, designed to get mesmerizing attention 24/7. Some of best advice I heard from one of my business coaches is to stop watching the news so much. I believe it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said “…You are what you think…” so don’t fill your mind with negative crap that’s being spewed constantly from the news media. I’m not suggesting to put your head in the sand, but come on, enough’s enough!

If you’d like to set up a zoom video conference from which at the leisure of your home, you can see my computer screen, ask real estate questions etc, text me at 424-361-0005 and I’d be happy to share the benefit of my near 40 years in the business. I’m like that Farmers Insurance commercial, “…we know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two…” Want more information on our Virtual Home Buying Program?

Meanwhile…

I want to make sure you’re using at least one of these three services; it’s important because …

the next two services are cutting edge in each of their categories and ◦the “Search Homes” platform below allows you to search PRIVATELY with your information secure and never sold! Did you know the big search platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, Redfin and the like, record your search patterns, what you looked at, how often you’re online, and all your personal and private contact info then they sell that information to multiple real estate agents and advertisers on their platforms?!?! 🤔 Ever wonder why you’re experiencing more spam calls and emails?
they will help you be a smarter, more informed buyer, seller or owner of real estate.
The second one’s importance is not so much the “value” component (let’s be honest, how accurate can a computer algorithm really be when nuancing “view”, “condition”, “micro-location” and/or “lot utility” variables), …
rather the importance in the results of the “big data” tech that informs you how many REAL buyers are actually searching NOW for a home matching your home’s characteristics! No other broker can do this for you and I invest thousands of dollars to bring this service to my clients! Imagine how much more your home would sell, targeting these Buyers with a campaign increasing competition to own your home
And the fourth service is our Virtual Home Buying service which is benefiting Sellers AND Buyers, click here to learn more