The Gist:

• This question is a good one. So many things have changed, and there are so many things that have shut down, but real estate is not one of them.

• Real estate is an essential service and has been since the beginning of COVID-19.

• As real estate agents, we didn’t necessarily expect to be front-line workers, but people have to move. There could be lots of money at stake, and one transaction can affect another. We have also aligned ourselves with other companies that have also made protocol changes to keep everyone safe. However, when it comes to viewing listed properties, we’re going to give you the low-down.

Booking viewings has changed. The primary changes are that the sellers are going to want some information up front.

• There are some questions related to COVID-19 that anyone wanting to view a property will have to answer to the seller to make sure they are comfortable. These are the same typical questions that are asked when you have a doctors appointment.

• Then they will determine if you are permitted to enter the property and how.

• Sometimes under lockdown, there are not a lot of choices as to where a family can go when their home is being viewed. The weather may be bad, they may be working from home, and so they cannot accommodate a showing at the requested time.

Under the rules prior to 2020, we would request to show the property, and the seller would be obligated under the MLS agreement to provide access to REALTORS® within 48 hours at an agreed-upon reasonable time.

• This is not the case anymore. Previously, there would be repercussions for the seller if they did not provide access to their house. They could have their listing removed from the MLS, which would result in a significant penalty when trying to sell.

• Nowadays, this is not the case. This is to make sure the people who would typically feel pressured are now not having that feeling when it involves making important decisions related to their house.

There are going to be limitations on who can go to the viewing.

• There is currently a maximum of two viewers from the same household plus your REALTOR®.

• In situations where we found a property for a family and they want to ensure they have every members sign off on it, we’ve gone back for a second showing and taken the family members in two-by-two.

Sellers will dictate protocol for entering, which usually includes the showing party to wear a mask and sanitize their hands before entering.

• Over and above this, we may also be required to wear gloves, and in some cases, they may request that we do not touch anything but the door to view the property.

• If we look at it from the sellers side, we can better understand this point of view. The homeowner may have a family member that is immunologically compromised, and that can pose a big concern with making sure that all doorknobs, light switches, and anything the viewers may have leaned up against were sufficiently cleaned afterwards.

• If this is the case, we will request that the sellers make sure that closet doors, a few drawers, and a few cupboards are open so that viewers can get a feel for storage space.

• If the viewers decide to go pending with the property, the situation could become one where we are more interactive with the property. There will need to be an inspection anyway, which will definitely require touching aspects of the property.

• At the moment with our own sellers, we are sometimes accommodating anywhere between eight to ten request to view the property in the same day. In this case, you can see why some sellers have concerns with that much access to their property already.

As REALTORS®, it is our job to make it as easy as possible for all parties involved and maintain excellent communication throughout the entire process. This essentially means doing our best to get you access to the properties that you love so you don’t miss out on The One.

So to answer the question— Yes. You can view properties during lockdown. The process, just like everything else, has a new normal.

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