UPDATE 3.21.2020.  As per the new New York  and New Jersey  “stay-at-home” restrictions, we are now instructing our agents to no longer provide showings of listings.  Our offices are totally closed, and we encourage everyone to stay at home at all times unless you have “essential business” until we get further guidance fromhttp://josephrand.randrealty.com/wp-admin/edit.php the state.

Note: A formatted version of the original letter can be found here.

To all our Rand Realty clients:

2. Stay home for the showing, but keep your distances

Usually, we think that sellers should absent the home during a showing, but in these circumstances you should be home to make sure that the buyers conduct a hygienically sanitary showing. If you do stay home, though, keep your distance! It’s natural to want to shake hands with people at the showing, but you need to resist that impulse. Keep a distance of 5-6 feet from other individuals throughout the showing, and don’t touch. Don’t even bump elbows, because that puts you too close. Use the “hand over heart” greeting.

3. Have rubber gloves for showings, if possible

Ideally, you should have rubber gloves for buyers and buyer agents to put on during showings. They can put the gloves on when they enter the home, and then take them off and dispose of them when they leave. That ensures they’re not making any contact with anything in the home. Keep the gloves near the front door, along with a trash can where they can be thrown out when the visitors are done.

4. Have sanitizing products ready

If you can’t have gloves handy, have hand sanitizer and/or wipes handy in case the buyers didn’t bring any (they should, but you never know). If you don’t have gloves, put out napkins that visitors can hold in their hands to open doors and drawers. And make sure you have soap in a bathroom near the entrance, so you can ask people to wash their hands when they enter.

5. Open windows

If it’s not too cold, and the weather is cooperating, open some windows in the house to get the air flowing.

6. When the showing is over, wipe everything down.

For your own peace of mind, you should take a disinfecting wipe and wipe down everything when your visitors leave. That includes door handles, cabinet and drawer pulls, and any surfaces they might have touched.

UPDATE 3.21.2020.  As per the new New York  and New Jersey  “stay-at-home” restrictions, we are now instructing our agents to no longer provide showings of listings, our offices are closed, and we encourage everyone to stay at home at all times unless you have “essential business.”

UPDATE: 3.17.2020

A message to our clients:

We understand if you want to take a break from buying or selling a home during the coronavirus outbreak, and give the virus time to run its course. That’s your decision, and we respect it.  We will keep you informed about what’s happening in the market in the meantime, and will be prepared to help you when you’re ready to get back in.

But if you do wish to continue the process of buying or selling your home, we are ready and able to assist you. As we write this in mid-March, healthy people are not being advised to self-quarantine unless they are in “hot zones” or have pre-existing conditions that make them particularly susceptible to the coronavirus – if they are over 60 years old or have heart or lung problems.  So for most of you, there’s no reason you can’t continue to look for a home, or keep your home on the market — so long as you take some fundamental precautions.

1. Wash your hands – and other hygienic practices

Soap is the very best preventative for communicating the virus, so use it.  Wash your hands regularly, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water.  If you can’t wash your hands, the next best thing is to use an anti-bacterial wipe or gel both before and after you come into contact with other people, objects, or surfaces. And try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. If you sneeze or cough, do it into a tissue, then throw away the tissue, then wash your hands or wipe them down.

2. Keep your distance – even from your agent!

You don’t need to hide in your basement, but you should try to keep a “social distance” from others when working, shopping, socializing. Give yourself 5-6 feet of distance from other people if possible, and avoid large groups of people. And that goes for greetings — no kissing, hugging, handshakes. Even the elbow shake is probably not a good idea. Instead, try the “heartfelt” gesture: both hands over your heart and a nod of your head to the person you’re greeting.

3. Use videoconferencing as much as possible.

You and your agent – and anyone else you’re working with on your transaction –should try to communicate as much as possible by videoconference rather than in-person meetings, just to limit the amount of interaction you have with other people.  if you are all on iPhones, you can easily do a Facetime meeting. And if you are all on Facebook, then Facebook Messenger has an easy-to-use video conferencing tool.  But you can also use any number of apps and services for video, including Whatsapp, Snapchat, Skype, and Zoom.

4.  Stagger the closing.

Talk to your attorneys about setting up staggered closings to avoid requiring all the parties to be in the room at the same time. You need to sign papers and fulfil some other closing functions, but you don’t necessarily need to do that with the other side present.

5. 5.  Take precautions on showings and open houses.

At this point, we see no reason to discontinue showings or open houses so long as you follow fundamental distancing and hygienic protocols.  Try to follow these guidelines:

• Keep your distance, even if it seems unfriendly.
• Remember: no shaking hands when you meet!
• Drive your own car to showings, rather than traveling with the agent in his or her car.
• Minimize touching of surfaces in houses.
• Bring paper towels with you, and use a clean paper towel or tissue to hold when you open doors or touch surfaces. .
• Try to wipe down every surface or handle after the showing or open house.
• Try to wash or wipe down your hands on the way in, and the way out.
• At the open house, keep your distance from other visitors, and let the hosting agent sign you in rather than handle a clipboard or tablet.

6. Buy some disposable gloves

if you can get some disposable gloves, keep them in your car for when you go on showings.  Put on a pair when you go into the house, and then strip them off and throw them away when you leave. It’s a good way to avoid touching any surfaces with your bare hands.

7.  Stay home if you’re not feeling well!

All this applies ONLY if you’re feeling okay.  If you’re not feeling well with any kind of cough or fever, stay home. At this point, you probably have a normal flu or some common cold, but don’t take chances. Call your doctor and otherwise get help. But if you’re not well, you shouldn’t be out looking at houses, or having someone come to see your home for sale.

NOTE: If you are high-risk, then stay home!

Everything we’ve said here applies only to healthy people who are not in a high-risk category.  If you are over 60, or have pre-existing heart or lung problems, you should probably be limiting your outside contacts as much as possible to reduce your chances of catching the virus. If you do need to go out, then take extra precautions and be extremely careful.

UPDATE 3.21.2020.  As per the new New York  and New Jersey  “stay-at-home” restrictions, we are now instructing our agents to no longer provide showings of listings, our offices are closed, and we encourage everyone to stay at home at all times unless you have “essential business.”

Published March 11, 2020

UPDATE March 17, 2020

We wanted to put out this general Advisory about the Coronavirus Epidemic, and what our clients, agents, and employees should be doing to minimize the spread of the virus.

First of all, if you are at high-risk, you should be staying isolated at home except if you need to go out for groceries, medicine, or medical treatment. What do we mean by high-risk?

• If you have pre-existing heart troubles.
• If you have pre-existing respiratory troubles.
• If you are diabetic.
• If you are over 60 years old.

People at high-risk are at an elevated risk of severe illness from the coronavirus, so they should be especially careful about staying close to home during this time.

But even if you’re not high-risk, you should stay home as much as possible, and follow hygienic protocols to reduce your risk of catching or spreading the virus.  Why?

• The coronavirus has proven to be fatal even to healthy people — the chances are lower than if you’re high-risk, but the virus is still a lot more deadly than the average flu.
• Even if you’re asymptomatic, you could be a carrier, and you could communicate the virus to someone who is high-risk.
• As a society, we need to reduce the spread of this virus in order to lower the burden on our health care infrastructure — we want to “flatten the curve” of the spread of the infection so we don’t overwhelm emergency rooms and intensive care units.

So what kinds of precautions should you take?

1.  Wash your hands!

Soap is the very best preventative for communicating the virus, so use it.  Wash your hands regularly, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water.

2.  Use Anti-Bacterial wipes and gel.

If you can’t wash your hands, the next best thing is to use an anti-bacterial wipe or gel both before and after you come into contact with other people, objects, or surfaces. And use those wipes to wipe down any objects or surfaces you touch or plan on touching.

3.   Social Distancing: Keep your distance!

If you do have the leave your home, should try to keep a “social distance” from others when out of your home. Give yourself 5-6 feet of distance from other people if possible.

4.  Social Distance Greetings: No handshakes, hugs, kisses

No kissing, hugging, handshakes. Even the elbow shake is probably not a good idea. Instead, try the “heartfelt” gesture: both hands over your heart and a nod of your head to the person you’re greeting.

5.  Avoid large groups.

Avoid gatherings of more than a dozen people in close proximity. Don’t go to dinner — get takeout instead.

6.  Hands off your face!

Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

7.  Keep tissues handy for coughs and sneezes.

If you sneeze or cough, do it into a tissue, then throw away the tissue, then wash your hands or wipe them down.  If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand — and then wash or wipe yourself down.

8.  Stay isolated if you’re not feeling well!

If you’re not feeling well with any kind of cough or fever, stay isolated home. At this point, you probably have a normal flu or some common cold, but don’t take chances. If your symptoms become serious, call your doctor or get medical attention.

9.  Strengthen your immune system

You can strengthen your immune system by taking some simple measures like:

• Getting more sleep
• Eating healthier
• Staying hydrated
• Taking more vitamins, especially Vitamin D, Zinc,

10.  STAY HOME!!!

If you don’t need to be out of the house, then stay home. If you have to leave, practice social distancing and use your wipes to clean surfaces and your hands.  That’s the best way to limit social interaction and slow the spread of the virus.

If you need help:

• Center for Disease Control
• NY Health Department

  NJ Health Department
• New York State Hotline: 1-888-364-3065.
• New Jersey State Hotline: 1-800-222-1222

Symptoms of Coronavirus

Coronavirus is marked by fever and cough. If you’re not well, but suffering from other symptoms, you might have a simple cold or more common flu.

Usually:                                   Sometimes:                             Rare or Never:
Fever                                       Aches and Pains                      Sneezing

Cough                                      Headaches                              Running or stuffy nose

Shortness of Breath                Diarrhea

Emergency warning signs include difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, pressure in the chest, or bluish lips or face. If you present these emergency signs, get medical attention immediately.

Dear Clients,

Please be advised that on February 5, 2020, the Department of State announced that landlords can no longer require tenants to pay brokerage fees to a broker/agent representing the landlord.  You can find the Department’s statement here.

Please note that this only applies to a broker/agent representing the landlord. If the broker/agent represents the tenant, and has a representation agreement that sets out a brokerage fee to be paid by the tenant, then the broker/agent can be paid by its tenant client.  Similarly, the landlord can pay the landlord’s agent, and, if the landlord wishes, the tenant’s agent as well. But the landlord’s broker/agent CANNOT be paid by the tenant.

The Department did not make clear whether this new rule applies to leases that were agreed to prior to February 5^th, 2020.  Other parts of the Department’s statement do indicate that the Department’s new interpretation is not intended to apply to existing leases. Thus, we are interpreting it to apply to leases signed as of today, February 6, 2020, the first business day after the announcement was made. We will advise you if we get contrary guidance from the state.

Accordingly, as of February 6, 2020:

Landlords:  if you are a landlord, you need to pay the brokerage fee to your own agent. You can also pay the tenant’s agent if you wish, although you do not need to.  But you cannot compel the tenant to pay your landlord’s agent. Essentially, if you want to list your property for rent, you need to at least compensate your own agent. You should also consider compensating a tenant’s agent, the way sellers do in residential sales, in order to incentivize them to bring you a tenant.  You can always build the cost of the compensation into your monthly rent.

Tenants: if you are a tenant, you do not have to pay a brokerage fee to a broker representing the landlord. You might still need to pay your own tenant’s agent, if you have one, pursuant to a separate agreement. If you’re working with a tenant’s agent, that agent deserves to be paid for their work.

Please note that if you have an existing agreement in principle to lease a property that requires the tenant to pay a brokerage fee to the landlord’s agent, but that agreement is not yet signed, then that agreement must be modified to comply with this new interpretation in the law.  The landlord needs to pay its own broker.  That might mean, of course, that the landlord might require an adjustment of the monthly rent due over the course of the lease.

We hope you find this helpful. If you have questions, please reach out through your Rand Realty agent.

NOTE:  I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney. I represent Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate |Rand  Realty.  If you would like to discuss the matter discussed here with an attorney, you should do so.