Video Transcript

- Hi everyone, it's Elaine Andrews from Andrews Group with our Business Unusual series. Today's question is, "I need a roof over my head. "I want to buy a home. "With the current pandemic, "how is that going to affect how we view properties?" Well, that's a loaded question. We realtors have been deemed an essential service, but to be honest, we're getting very mixed messages from our board and from our brokerage.

So, they're telling us, "Don't feel pressured to work, "but you're an essential service." So that's a hard one to put together. And they have now come out with a bunch of forms for us. On top of that, the Errors and Omissions Insurance that we have to protect us and you has told us that we're not covered should something happen with regards to the coronavirus and showing properties, so that's nice.

Basically, we have nine pages from our brokerage on how to deal with showing properties and doing business as usual during this time, but what it really comes down to is that as a seller you would be signing this form, which is called the COVID-19 Virus Pandemic Seller Consent and Release Indemnity. And what this form, this two page form, is basically doing is saying, "I forgive you, Elaine, if you give me the COVID virus "or bring somebody with the COVID virus into my home." Basically, that's one form.

Then, as the selling agent, I will require every buying agent coming to fill out this form for each one of the people that they're bringing through our listing, and this form is called the Property Showing Health Disclosure form, or declaration form, pardon me. And there's basically four questions, like, "Have you been out of the country? "Are you feeling sick?" You swear you haven't come into contact with anybody that has COVID. So, you will sign this, and of course we don't want everybody coming to the showing, so it'll just be you and the decision maker.

Don't bring the kids and the aunties and all that kind of stuff, and your brother-in-law who knows so much about real estate. It would just be you and the other decision maker and we would go through the property and the aseptic techniques that we're using is all good. You know, hand sanitizer, spraying anything with alcohol, I come with gloves, the whole bit.

Prefer that one person goes in at a time, we have social distancing, we're not driving in the same car, and we're very, very careful while we're there. So, that's the pleasure now of looking for homes, if you're in the market to buy a new home. There's no open houses, right? So, this is how it's done from now on, until we're told it's not done this way.

So, that's today's question. I hope that's helpful and I hope to you see you with the next day's question.