— There has never been a better time to be alive!
Our ancestors survived the Bubonic Plague and the Spanish Flu without ever finding a vaccine. Today, we are vastly better prepared to handle COVID-19.
Don’t fall victim to the Declinism bias. With the right growth mindset, humans are adaptable and remarkably resilient. Either you actively lead the way and design your future, or you passively watch it unfolding.
The choice between a ‘fight or flight’ response is a survival tool genetically ingrained in all of us. Select your path. Take action and build your economic recovery.
“You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than feeling yourself into action.” ~ Jerome Bruner, Harvard psychologist
— There has never been a better time to live in Hawaii.
Hawaii has dodged a bullet and is considered just about the cleanest state in the US. We have the lowest COVID-19 ‘Deaths/1M pop’ in the nation and the 2nd lowest number of ‘Active Cases.’
— There has never been a better time to buy and sell real estate in Hawaii.
We empathize with those affected by COVID and economic hardship. For the ones that are more fortunate, there are tremendous opportunities to buy and sell. Interest rates are hovering near all-time lows while early signs of an economic recovery are emerging.
“Never waste a good crisis” ~ Winston Churchill
Are you wondering how to sell your home in a post-COVID-19 market? We are expert realtors with a ‘ready to help, can do’ attitude and the power tools to get it done.
Implementing ‘E’!
We haven’t skipped a beat and we hope you do the same. While others wait for circumstances to improve, we have been taking the bull by the horns, forging forward in a market choke-full of opportunities assisting buyers and sellers.
‘E’ stands for ‘everything,’ as in ‘we use every tool in the book.’ – Are you ready to participate?
Consistent with the governor’s stay-at-home order we have focused on ‘essential business’ only. We streamlined the home buying and selling process and took the necessary steps to maximize efficiency while effectively curbing the risk of spreading the virus.
Buyers
During the economic lock-down, our website traffic has increased! We attribute this to the combination of these factors:
- People have more time to search from the comfort of their homes.
- Physical Open Houses have been prohibited.
- We continue to refine our intuitive website design. – We aim to please and are committed to excellence.
We call this the ‘Amazon e-commerce edge.’ During the crisis, we increased productivity while reducing the waste of time, energy, and gasoline.
- Who wants to expose themselves to high-risk areas when it can be done more safely?
- Who wants to commute through traffic when it can be done more efficiently?
We understand the curiosity and urge for buyers to look at homes.
Consistent with ‘essential business’ during the crisis, we are delighted to schedule showings for ready buyers with ‘immediate housing needs.’
The requirements are:
- You must have an urgent need to move, buy, or sell.
- You must be pre-approved, pre-qualified, or be able to show ‘proof of funds’ if it’s a cash purchase.
- You must comply with CDC guidelines, e.g. social distancing, face mask, etc.
See related article: Tips To Finding Your Dream Home
We may not accommodate a physical showing if you first need to sell another property to get ready to buy.
I regret, we do not accommodate the ‘sight-seeing’ of properties. “I just want to see it. Then I will clean up my house and get it ready to put on the market.” – That won’t work.
Save your time and energy. Focus on the immediate essential next steps.
You must be ready and must have taken the necessary prior steps.
See related article: ‘Buy Before Sell’ vs ‘Sell Before Buy’ – Best Strategy For A Sideways Move In The Market
We love to assist when you are ready and serious about buying or selling.
Not ready yet? – For the curious dreamers, indulge in virtual ‘sightseeing’ of our property listings, and get up to speed with our vast library of resources and educational blog posts. If you are not actively moving towards your goals, you are effectively drifting away. Get smart and take incremental purposeful action. Sign up for our newsletter and create email alerts for property updates.
Sellers
During the economic lockdown, several sellers were concerned about how we could sell their homes.
In addition to the usual home preparations e.g. decluttering, cleaning, cost-effective cosmetic repairs, professional staging, professional photography, etc., we are implementing the following additional marketing tools for our property listings:
Just like a store window display lures potential buyers into a store, professional photos have been generating buyer interest, enticing them to schedule a physical showing of the property.
In today’s market, showcasing your property with a supplemental 3-D virtual tour plus a video adds these substantial benefits:
- Each room can be viewed in full surround view showing all corners and angles from floor to ceiling.
- The layout and flow of the property become clear. How is each room positioned within the home? Some prospects might recognize that the layout may, or may not fit their lifestyle.
- This immersive experience helps define the property to a potential buyer in such detail that showings can be limited to only the remaining serious buyers that match the property best.
- The reduced number of showings are far more effective and minimize your worries, risk, and wasted time & energy.
To further restrict unnecessary foot traffic through your home, we filter showing requests and require that each buyer must be pre-qualified, pre-approved, or all cash with proof of funds (POF).
We are in the business to sell your home at the best terms and the highest price that the market will bear, and with the least amount of disruption to you.
We are on a mission to speedily determine who is the most ideal, ready, willing, and able buyer for your home today.
No physical showings to home-sale-contingency lookers, unless their property is currently in escrow ready to close with an imminent closing date.
This rigorous screening process protects your health, your home, and your sanity.
This Is How We Do It
Here is a recent real-life scenario:
A client called in March 2020 during COVID-19 lock-down. They wanted to sell their principal residence but were concerned about:
- COVID-19 health risks from showing their home to strangers while still living in the property.
- The amount of clutter that had accumulated during the last 25+ years of occupancy.
- The current uncertainty in the market with the escalating economic fall-out. — “Who are the buyers, if any, that would want to buy our house right now?”
We took six weeks to unclutter, complete some cost-effective cosmetic repairs, re-position existing furniture, and finalized some light staging. We took professional photos, a 3-D virtual tour, and a video.
Here is the ocean view from the back patio:
And here is the backside of the house:
Professional photography entices to see more. Now check the property’s immersive 3-D Virtual Tour. – Can you see how this engaging technology could help sell your home too? The video further illuminates the property’s layout and flow.
We reviewed the comps and the seller determined the list price they were comfortable with. We launched the property listing preemptively during the COVID lock-down with the expectation of a timely sale. It appeared that many sellers may have been taking a pause (!). Inventory levels were low and are still limited as of this writing. We are seizing the opportunity for ready and willing sellers.
Our marketing efforts generated close to 20 showing requests during the first week. We filtered through all requests and restricted the number of physical showings to a short time window on two specific days that worked best for the seller to temporarily step out and vacate their home.
We identified the two most qualified, willing, and able buyers. Both recognized a sense of urgency and submitted offers significantly above the asking price. We opened escrow within the first week of hitting the market.
The seller had plans to downsize into a smaller property, preferably with a bedroom on the ground floor. Previously we explored a handful of suitable replacement options. Within four days we opened escrow on a replacement property. Both transactions, the seller’s current property, and the new replacement property are scheduled to close simultaneously.
Also, to accommodate the seller’s moving schedule and to eliminate the need for moving twice, we negotiated the right for the seller to remain rent-free in their current home for a couple of extra days beyond the closing date.
We incorporated special language in both contracts to protect our client’s best interest with maximum optionality. To ensure success, the simultaneous closings are subject to each other.
More details of a ‘sideways move’ strategy are explained here.
Right-Sizing Is Our Specialty
In any market environment, whether you need to down-size or up-size, we are experts in representing clients in right-sizing into the most suitable property with the least amount of inconvenience. We love what we do and look forward to assisting you too!
Contact us when you are serious and ready. We are here to help. ~ Mahalo & Aloha