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As real estate professionals, we have a unique and privileged role: to guide homebuyers and sellers through a process that can seem daunting even during the best of times. Our job is to make that process easier and to lend our knowledge and experience to our clients to help streamline every step with a calm and steady hand. This challenging time of COVID-19 only reinforces just how much clients need us to achieve their real estate goals.
And they do need us. This may be an unprecedented time in our country, but life isn’t on hold. Babies are born; couples get married; people relocate for jobs — life milestones that often mean new homes. To some, a home has never felt so important. During this crisis, we’ve all come to a renewed realization that a home goes beyond shelter, because for many of us it’s acting as a school, an office, a playground and, perhaps most comforting, a safe space.
Due in part to today’s historically low mortgage rates, interest in buying and selling homes is still quite active. In fact, over the first weekend following Illinois’ stay-at-home order in March, more than 2,600 properties went under contract in our greater Chicago area. That’s a clear reminder that financial services remain essential and that clients need the guidance of a real estate professional now more than ever.
Across the United States, real estate professionals — and, indeed, all Americans — are learning how to continue serving clients amid stay-at-home orders. This can seem arduous for a profession such as ours, which typically requires so much face-to-face interaction. But I am proud to say our industry has risen to the challenge and has quickly adapted to this new normal.
Here’s how we can all be more proactive to make sure those wanting to make a move can do so safely and confidently during this crisis.
Zoom Into A Room
Tech is enabling us all to continue being there for our clients. Firms can continue meeting needs fully yet remotely.
As an industry, residential real estate has always been nimble in embracing the latest tech tools to more efficiently serve our clients. We know how to be there for them without being physically together. Interested buyers can tour homes online or experience virtual showings by smartphone, and they can communicate with their agents using video messaging tools like BombBomb or virtual meeting apps like Zoom. Buyers interested in a particular home can even participate in a FaceTime live interactive tour conducted by their agent.
And when it comes time to make an offer on a home, earnest money deposits should be made by bank wire, rather than check, to avoid the need for employees to handle paper. Clients should also be extra vigilant about averting potential wire fraud by always confirming wiring instructions over the phone with their closing officer.
Remote-Controlled Mortgages
With mortgage rates at all-time lows and much of the paperwork being streamlined, financing (and refinancing) a home is more attractive than ever. There are lenders that have gone 100% digital and are accepting online applications. In minutes, buyers can submit applications remotely from a computer or smartphone. Any documents needed to support the application, from bank statements to verifications of employment, can be supplied remotely, and underwriting decisions may be made remotely as well.
Make It Easier With E-Closing Title Services
Closings also can take place through the remote execution of documents, often referred to as e-closings. Many states have even enacted legislation that authorizes remote online notarization, which allows buyers to close on a home from the comfort of their couch. Sellers can also avoid attending a closing in person if they provide power of attorney to their respective lawyers.
But even in states that still require parties to personally sign documents, we can achieve remote closings with contactless document delivery. Paperwork is limited, as is close interaction.
Real estate is a resilient business. As an industry, we’ve withstood some of the nation’s most difficult moments in history, from the Great Depression to 9/11, and we have always emerged tougher and smarter. Along the way, we’ve learned to adapt to new and better ways of doing business. We see this playing out now during a pandemic with new apps and tech tools. Fundamentally, real estate is a people business. If anything, now is the time for more human connection as people are looking for answers and craving information. Reach out to your clients, and let them know you’re there for them every step of the way.