Svetlana Bardina - on transactions in the real estate market. Kommersant FM columnist Svetlana Bardina tells how realtors adapt to new realities and reduce the risk of coronavirus infection for both agents and clients.
Quarantine, disinfection and self-isolation - these terms appeared immediately in the real estate market. But housing issues still need to be resolved, and apartments and country houses put up for sale or offered for rent will not show themselves. Of course, the client is not ready to enter the deal without viewing. The way out of the situation is to transfer all processes to an online format. Brokers have already offered a remote access option.
Penny Lane Realty, a real estate company, has developed a work procedure that minimizes the risks of virus infection, reduces unnecessary contacts and saves time. The first step - the owner sends a photo and video of his apartment and signs a contract for the management of the property based on the inventory.
Keys can be transferred to an agent even through a mailbox. And then the masked agent himself will conduct screenings to future buyers and tenants, simultaneously recording what is happening on a camera or using online platforms for group video communication.
The tenant comes for viewing at will. Sometimes, future residents are already choosing virtual meetings. If all parties agree and decide to enter the deal, then the agent prepares the documents and sends them to the participants by courier service. Developers, on the other hand, can even offer a form of electronic registration of the transaction for the acquisition of housing in new buildings.
How long such a tense situation will last, no one can say for sure yet, how to predict how quarantine measures will ultimately affect the real estate market. But even in such conditions, the business, including the rental business, continues to work, adapting in order to maintain the opportunity to receive income.