The Little Realtor

While we are open for business again here in Philadelphia, the real estate market is unlikely to look the same for a while. If you are thinking about buying a home this year, its worth prepping for the "new normal" in house shopping. Photo by  Marie Chiong  on  Unsplash Showings  Showings will be limited to just two people and their agent for a while, we assume. That means while in the past, family members often walked through homes as well to weigh-in, only two primary buyers may walk through at any given time. Further, during a walk-through, you'll be asked to wear a mask and potentially shoe covers/gloves. Further, you should refrain from touching every single surface as everything has to get wiped down. Sellers' Priority  While a seller may have listed their home and opened it to the market, they have the right to lay down additional stipulations. Some may require additional time between showings, ask for further coverings, or even limit ...

Since Gov. Wolf's mid-March, statewide shutdown, real estate has been deemed a "non-essential" service and industry. Not only has that meant real estate agents can't show homes, but all rental/sale activities have been halted, including any in-person showings, even by a seller, in-person mortgage appraisals, home inspections, etc. While there have been homes going on the market, and some even pending sale, homes that have gone under contract after March 18th have been all-but-impossible to close. And even those homes that went under contract were often accompanied by clauses from the buyer stating that they still had the option to view the home before choosing to purchase. Many of them were still waiting to see the house they had made an offer on. Until yesterday at 3 p.m. when Gov. Wolf changed his initial order to allow real estate activities to be conducted as an essential service across the state, regardless of "Red" or "Yellow" status. Th...