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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, and we encourage everyone to stay at home at all times unless you have “essential business.”
UPDATE: 3.17.2020. As of this writing, we have been advised that showings pose a minimal risk to our agents and clients, so long as everyone follows good hygienic protocols to protect all of us. If you do not want to go on showings, that’s your decision and we completely respect it. We work for you. And we certainly echo the advice we are getting from authorities to stay home as much as possible.
But if you do want to go on showings, here are the protocols you should follow:
1. No more than one group of three people.
Showings should be for one group at a time, with no more than three total people going through a home at the same time — all of whom should keep distance from one another.
2. 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. Everyone in their own car
Agents often drive their buyers on showings. No more. Everyone should drive their own car.
4. Bring sanitizing products
Make sure to bring your own sanitizing products, if possible:
- Disposable rubber gloves that you can wear for each showing.
- Hand sanitizing gel
- Anti-bacterial wipes
- Disposable paper products: paper towels, napkins, tissues.
5. Wash your hands
Ideally, you should wash your hands in the home when you enter and when you leave.
6. Leave no fingerprints.
To protect yourself and the seller, take precautions about touching any objects in the home, especially including door handles, drawers, and cabinets:
- If you have disposable rubber gloves, put them on when you get to the home, then take them off and throw them out when you leave. Use a different pair of gloves for each house.
- If you have hand sanitizer or wipes, clean your hands when you enter the home, and then clean them again when you leave.
- Keep a sanitizing wipe in your hand, and use that hand to open any doors or draws. If you don’t have a wipe, use a disposable paper product (paper towel, tissue, napkin) that keeps your hand from touching any surface.
