COVID-19: Hosting A Safe Open House

Hosting A Safe Open House

In our previous posts we’ve discussed our efforts here at Jump Realty to combat COVID-19 while still fulfilling your real estate needs. We’ve talked about our efforts inside the office to keep that environment safe and we’ve talked about the virtual open houses and how useful they can be in these times. We understand as a seller or a buyer you may feel it is safe enough to host or visit an open house respectively. In this post, we’ll discuss how to make these situations as safe as possible.

Let’s start as a visitor to an open house. While they are currently being urged against, some sellers are still doing them and you as a buyer may feel safe enough to visit one. If you decide you want to visit an open house here are a few ways you can ensure this visit is safe. Before you even go, consider your own situation. Do you have any symptoms of COVID-19, even if it is just one and very mild ? Have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 ? Have you travelled to any areas impacted by COVID-19 ? If you answered yes to any of these, for the sake of others, you should avoid visiting an open house. If you answered no to all and decide to visit a showing, take the following steps to protect yourself and protect the current homeowners. First and foremost, wear a mask inside the home. Next, sanitize your hands upon entering the home. Once inside the home, try not to wander too much and stay with the agent. Minimize the amount of surfaces you touch. If others are inside the house ensure you maintain a 2 metre or 6 foot distance between yourself and them. These are all common courtesies out of respect to the homeowners to minimize the possible exposures or risks in the home.

If you are selling your home and decide to host an open house, here are some good things to do to ensure you mitigate the risks to yourself and your family. The process starts at the front door. All people viewing your home should sign in for contact tracking purposes upon entering. All guests should be required to sanitize their hands and wear a mask throughout their whole walk through. Guests should also be limited. No more than 3 people, you agent plus two guests, should be in the home at any time. It helps to have a second agent outside to ensure accurate tracing and ensure no one just walks in the house. Do not let people freely roam the property. They should be required to stay with the agent during the process. Next prior to the open house starting, turn on all lights and open all doors yourself. If the weather permits, also open windows in order to get air flow through the home and mitigate standing air. This will help minimize the amount of high touch surfaces being touched. Upon the completion of the open house, be sure to disinfect all surfaces and open windows if you already haven’t. Taking these steps will help to mitigate the risk of exposure during an open house.

As someone looking to buy or sell your home, we here at Jump Realty understand that you may want to still host or visit open houses. While it is something we do not recommend, it is still something our agents can help you out with. As a buyer, our agents will ensure you are entering the safest possible environment and ask you to follow all tips above. As a seller, our REALTOR®’s will take every protocol and precaution listed above to ensure that you and your home are safe during the process. Jump Realty agents always put the best interests and satisfaction of our clients above all else. If you are looking to buy a home, sell your current home, or have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. We’d love to show you a better real estate experience!

in person open house