The dream of owning your very own home is an important one, and for many, this pandemic has made it difficult to check out potential homes. While it’s a frightening time, the real estate industry has made changed, quickly, to help buyers find their dream home, safely.

Mortgage Pre-Approval

Before we get too head of ourselves, the first step to take is to get pre-approved and find out how much you can afford. During this pandemic, business have closed their physical offices and chosen to work remotely. Its important to find a loan officer who is set up to work remotely and offers a digital mortgage process.

The good news is that many mortgage lenders are already used to operating digitally. Look for a lender that allow you to track your loan progress, view resources and stay in touch all from behind a computer screen. Ask our agents to recommend you a lender, we work with many who operate digitally and are skilled at doing business online.

Lenders will also need documentation, such as income, credit history, etc. This paperwork should be available to you online, but if you need help, a tech-savvy lender can help you get all the paperwork together.

Home Hunting

Probably the most important aspect of buying a home, is searching for it! Luckily, the real estate industry has changed during these unprecedented times to help buyers find their homes safely.

Many agents are using virtual communication methods to show buyers prospective homes, and keep their clients safe.

For us here at The Mark & Al Team, that means using technology to virtually show properties to our buyers. Our agents are using email, text, screen sharing and video calls to show properties and discuss details in real time. Using these tools, we can even connect buyers to lenders, appraisers, inspectors and escrow without delay!

For example, our listing in Claremont offers a virtual tour, showing off the best of the property in a convenient video. The National Association of Realtors recommends that buyers & agents use photos, video tours and virtual walkthroughs before showing a home, to further narrow down the pool of properties they need to physically tour.

However, we understand that these videos might not show every corner or cupboard, so agents are also available for virtual showings. Through facetime, or a video call, we can provide a more personalized experience from the comfort of your couch and answer questions in real time.  

Once you are ready (and if you would like to) our agents are prepared to show you a property with all the proper precautions. Our agents are equipped with masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and shoe covers to show homes safely, and updated to follow all CDC guidelines and state orders.

** At this time, As of March 28^th, real estate is considered an essential business. We are taking all Covid-19 guidelines seriously and are following all CDC advice. At the moment, we are offering virtual open houses, presentations and virtual private home tours. Also, the California Association of Realtors is prohibiting open houses, but not private home showings with the proper safety measures taken.

Overall, keep these things in mind when home searching:

• Use photos, videos & virtual walkthroughs to check out as many properties as possible
• Narrow down your search by asking your realtor questions before you decide to tour
• Ask your agent to tour your top properties after checking out all the material online
• Use face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc to tour homes safely
• Only tour a home with one other person, likely, your real estate agent

PS: check out our home tours!

Home Inspections & Appraisals

So you made your offer (digitially of course) and got it accepted, congrats! Now there are a couple more steps before you close, those including inspections & appraisals. Some buyers prefer to be present at these walkthroughs, but at this time, realtor.com is recommending to leave the professionals to do the job. Less people minimizes risk, so have your agent and the appraiser/inspector alone to do the walkthrough.

After, have you agent video conference with you to go over the walkthrough and results. Many inspectors/appraisers provide plenty of photos and  a report for you. A slideshow of photos will make it easy for you, the buyer, to ask questions about details the inspector/appraiser picked up on.

Additionally, appraisers can gather most of the available public and private data digitally, further minimizing risk.

Our agents have closed many deals, and have years of experience to fall back on. They know what to look for and how to best counsel you at this stage.

Buying a home is difficult, but we aim to make it an easy & streamlined process for you. These times are uncertain, but we’ve done a lot of the groundwork and have moved to digital & virtual tools to help you find and buy your dream home!

Source: “Is it Safe to House Hunt During the Coronavirus Crisis? This Is What You Must Know” Realtor.com ; ‘CRMLS Coronavirus (Covid-19) Resources’ go.crmls.org