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Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Released Thursday, 2nd April 2020
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Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Episode 12: SPECIAL EDITION Buying and Selling Virtually

Thursday, 2nd April 2020
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Episode Transcript

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0:02

Hello everyone. This is the keeping it real

0:05

in real estate show and I'm your host,

0:07

Kathy Blakey. I'm a realtor

0:09

with century 21 a marketer,

0:12

entrepreneur and nature enthusiast.

0:14

In this podcast series, I'm going

0:16

to take you on a journey as we explore topics

0:18

in real estate, including the market mortgages,

0:22

common inspection issues, sustainable

0:24

future and more. Are you a homeowner or future homeowner?

0:28

Do you like saving money, enjoy healthy

0:31

living? Then this podcast series

0:33

may be for you. Stay tuned

0:35

as we go deep into these topics and

0:38

don't forget, subscribe, like and share.

0:43

Welcome to this special edition of buying

0:46

and selling virtually. As of this recording,

0:49

we have "stay at home orders" related to

0:52

the COVID 19 pandemic. In

0:54

some States, we're conducting limited

0:57

real estate activities for those

0:59

who truly need to buy and sell.

1:01

This special edition is dedicated

1:04

to tips for buying and selling virtually.

1:08

Most of us have bought and sold real estate

1:10

the traditional way ... viewing photos,

1:13

scheduling appointments, and going and looking

1:15

at home after home until we find the right

1:17

one. Recently, we've

1:19

also been able to use more

1:22

virtual tools, 3d tours,

1:25

photographs, video, and aerial views.

1:27

All of these tools have significantly

1:30

increased our ability to do

1:33

preliminary home shopping online

1:35

. During this

1:37

pandemic, for those who truly

1:39

need to move, we can

1:41

to take that to a whole new level as

1:44

an extension of what tools are in

1:46

place and making the best use

1:48

of those. In

1:51

today's episode, I'm going to be covering five

1:54

key topics and

1:56

the first three are going to have to deal with

1:58

buyers and then the next two have

2:00

to do with sellers. So

2:03

for buyers , we are going to be focusing on three

2:05

topics: visually shopping,

2:08

informational shopping and exploratory

2:11

shopping. So for visual shopping,

2:14

this is using Google earth photos

2:16

as provided by the listing, virtual

2:19

tours, 3d tours, even

2:22

FaceTime and zoom. All

2:24

these video tours that you

2:26

can see what's going on with

2:28

the property and take

2:30

a look if this is the type of home that will meet

2:32

your needs. Also, floor plans

2:35

to the extent that they're available are also

2:37

helpful. So

2:40

when you're using these tools, you want to look at Google

2:42

earth, you want to see what's around your home, your

2:44

potential home. Take a look at yard

2:46

sizes in shopping for homes.

2:49

I find buyers w ill go

2:51

to a home in person and learn

2:53

something about that home that really they may

2:55

have already been able to find out online

2:58

just by pulling up the aerial view and

3:00

taking a look at the surroundings.

3:03

So for some of the things that you're going to be looking

3:05

for in the visual

3:07

tools, you'll want to make

3:09

yourself a wants and needs checklist

3:11

so that you know what's important to you. Sometimes

3:14

cabinet color may be important type

3:17

of flooring, maybe important whether

3:19

the home has updates or not. The

3:22

yard view, whether it has a deck.

3:24

All of these things can be determined

3:26

by looking at the photos. Sometimes

3:29

it's difficult to determine the room size

3:31

from the photos because of the wide angle lenses

3:34

and the photographs being taken

3:36

to showcase as much of the property

3:38

as possible. What you can do to overcome

3:40

that is take a measurement

3:43

of a room size within your existing

3:45

living space and then

3:47

compare that to the multiple listing service

3:50

or what other service that

3:52

you have for the listing where it has the room size

3:54

is listed and if they're not available, you

3:57

can ask your agent for those dimensions

4:00

to help identify if the

4:02

home is going to be big enough space for

4:04

whether it's the master bedroom, the kitchen,

4:07

the primary living area. A common

4:09

concern is whether the furniture will

4:12

fit, so these again can all be done

4:14

through visual. The

4:17

next topic is going to be using the

4:19

information available, so

4:22

there's going to be a variety of sources of

4:24

information and let's start

4:26

with the seller's disclosure.

4:28

Carefully review the seller's disclosure.

4:31

That will give you insight to the

4:33

type of systems. Tell you if there've

4:35

been any issues with the systems,

4:38

can tell you if the age of the systems

4:41

as well as other common topics

4:43

like water intrusion

4:45

problems with the roof, anything.

4:48

It's going to help you to rule

4:50

out whether this is a home for you or not.

4:53

Using the information that's available.

4:55

Also, the listing detail can

4:58

tell you the types of systems,

5:00

again contained within it. It can tell you

5:02

room sizes, it can tell

5:05

you lots of things

5:07

that you may want to know. You'd

5:09

be surprised when buyers

5:11

are going on a tour and

5:14

looking at multiple homes all in one day

5:16

and only to find out that several

5:19

of those homes, you know didn't

5:21

meet the minimum requirements of their

5:23

wants and needs to begin with. So

5:26

knowing what your wants needs are ruling

5:29

out the homes, you by process

5:31

of elimination based on the information that's

5:33

available is one really good way

5:36

during this virtual touring

5:38

to help identify a home that's going to be good

5:40

or not good for you. Another source

5:43

is going to be public records. Not

5:45

all counties have the same level of information

5:47

available electronically on public records,

5:50

but to the extent that your County does utilize

5:52

it, you may find out when the

5:54

systems have been updated maybe before the current

5:57

owner own the property. By

5:59

taking a look back into public records, you

6:02

can see when permits have

6:04

been issued and we'll give

6:06

you some more insight as well. So

6:09

the next topic is exploratory.

6:12

We talked about using the visual

6:14

aids that are currently available through

6:16

maps, Google earth, virtual tours,

6:19

photographs, all that is currently available.

6:22

We have informational, which is information

6:25

it's currently available through the listing and through

6:27

the disclosures. And what I think

6:29

the next phase is for any

6:31

home that you're seriously considering is

6:33

exploratory. So during this

6:35

environment where we need to transact

6:39

as much virtually as possible,

6:41

we may be taking this to a whole nother level

6:43

where we're creating custom questionnaires

6:46

for the sellers, things that aren't available

6:48

through the standard photographs,

6:51

things that are important to you to know about

6:53

a home, like the slope of the yard.

6:56

And that's not always going to be available

6:58

on a standard seller's disclosure.

7:00

But it's something that you may be important

7:03

for you to know and you may also

7:05

consider having your realtor

7:07

or the seller create a

7:09

custom video for

7:12

the types of questions you have. For instance,

7:14

you may want to see

7:16

what the basement walls look like. You

7:19

may want to know whether there's an eagerness

7:22

window in the lowest level.

7:24

There are things that are not necessarily going

7:26

to be available in the standard photographs

7:30

or on the seller's disclosure, but

7:32

are important to you. So

7:34

exploratory would be the next level.

7:37

It may be asking for an audio

7:39

of the floors. You know, having

7:41

someone walk through the property and

7:43

have the audio turned on so you can know whether

7:46

the floor squeak, if that is an issue

7:48

for you. Maybe it's an older

7:50

home and you're not sure if the

7:52

floors are level asking those kinds

7:54

of questions. Probably

7:58

the biggest hurdle to overcome

8:00

virtually is going to

8:03

be the other senses like

8:05

smell that's going to be

8:07

subjective. Many homeowners

8:10

who have been living in their home and may not even know

8:12

that they're to smell. What do you do about

8:14

that? You can use your questionnaire

8:17

to ask if they have any pets. You

8:19

can ask if there's been any water

8:22

damage which could indicate you know, mold

8:24

or mildew. And then

8:26

the next level from there might be

8:28

to have an air quality test as

8:31

part of your standard agreement if you

8:33

choose to move forward with any

8:35

offering on the property. So I'm

8:37

sure there's a lot of considerations

8:39

for anyone who is thinking about purchasing

8:42

a home. Virtually. It is

8:44

done, it's done through relocation,

8:46

through military relocation site

8:48

on scene . It has been done

8:51

while before COBIT 19 and

8:54

it's just a matter of getting and all parties

8:56

being transparent. And that's

8:58

going to be key for both buyers and sellers.

9:03

If you are a home seller who

9:05

needs to sell your home during this time

9:08

and you're considering putting it on the market,

9:11

there are some things that you can do to

9:13

help facilitate this. And so

9:16

as I mentioned, transparency is key.

9:19

Providing as much information as you

9:21

possibly can for a potential

9:23

buyer, filling out your disclosures

9:25

thoroughly, accurately and

9:28

come up comprehensive information. You may

9:30

even take it to the next level, which

9:32

is providing a

9:35

home inspection prior to listing. That

9:37

may even include an air quality

9:40

test just to give that extra comfort level

9:42

to the buyer to know that you

9:45

know some things that maybe they weren't able to

9:47

use their senses for, that you've provided

9:50

a clean air quality test, providing

9:53

a list of upgrades that you've

9:55

done which is above and

9:57

beyond what a seller's disclosure may be

9:59

asking you for. And then if there

10:01

are any issues, you know, taking the extra

10:03

time to document those to give

10:05

the comfort. The

10:08

next item for sellers is flexibility,

10:11

either allowing or participating

10:13

in custom videos, taking

10:16

it to the next level virtually to allow

10:18

for things that you don't normally take

10:20

a photograph of to be photographed.

10:23

Questionnaires from buyers being responsive

10:26

and transparent and

10:28

these are the types of things that will help buyers

10:30

get comfortable with your home and

10:33

provide for the ability for

10:35

real estate to still be conducted virtually

10:38

through this pandemic. For those who

10:40

do need to buy or sell, thanks

10:44

for listening in today. Just wanted to

10:46

provide as some information for

10:49

anyone who is in need of buying

10:51

and selling, that you know that there

10:53

are things that can be done. We all

10:55

need to think outside of the box and

10:58

realize that this is not the

11:01

normal transaction. This is not

11:03

the normal traditional way

11:05

of buying and selling, but it can be

11:07

done and it can be done through

11:09

creative means as well. As

11:11

you know, again, just continue to

11:13

say it, transparency

11:15

and flexibility, both buyers

11:18

and sellers to get through this time

11:20

and we as agents also

11:23

need to be responsive, transparent,

11:26

and flexible and creative.

11:29

So if you have further questions, contact

11:31

your realtor. If you do not have

11:33

a realtor and you are in

11:36

Delaware, Maryland or Pennsylvania, feel

11:38

free to contact me and stay safe.

11:42

Thanks for tuning into this episode of

11:44

keeping it real in real estate with Kathy

11:46

wakey as your host. For more information

11:48

on this episode or others, visit

11:51

w w w keeping

11:53

it real info.com

11:56

there you can find information about becoming a guest

11:58

speaker, episode notes and contact

12:01

information for the guest speakers. You

12:03

can also connect with me on social media by

12:06

using the key terms. Kathy

12:08

Blakey, realtor, find me on Facebook,

12:10

Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

12:13

If you'd like to subscribe to this podcast, you

12:15

can find it on iTunes, Google play,

12:17

Spotify, and more. Thanks for listening.

12:21

As a disclaimer, this show is not intended to be

12:23

a replacement for professional advice for specific

12:26

issues related to your real estate transaction.

12:28

Please consult with your qualified realtor, mortgage

12:30

broker, home inspector, or real estate attorney.

12:32

Thank you.

12:37

[inaudible] .

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