MARKETING PROPERTIES SAFELY DURING THIS TIME..

Safety is paramount during this pandemic period

Dear All,

We hope you are safe and well.

2 weeks ago, we had informed you that the government had announced that the property market is back open for business ON THE BASIS OF SENSIBLE SAFETY MEASURES BEING PUT INTO PLACE.

Prior to the announcement, we had already been planning for working life during the pandemic and we had written up all our relevant safety protocols (in the office, on viewings and n valuations).

One of our first viewing days was last Saturday where we carried out multiple viewings on a rental flat all in one day with separate viewing time slots (20 viewings to be exact! - it was a tiring day..)

Leading up to each of the viewing appointments we did the following:

- We pre-qualified each of the viewers for suitability (we do this anyway)

- We asked each of the viewers to confirm IN WRTING that they do not have Covid Symptoms and that they are not self-isolating

- We also asked each of the viewers to confirm IN WRITING that they would bring their own gloves and masks.

We made it crystal clear to all that the viewing would not take place UNTIL they wrote back with their confirmation to the above points. A few did not reply to us in writing and we had to chase them up. A few still did not reply to us in writing so we had to email them informing them that their viewing was cancelled.

Over the course of the day, around 40% of the viewers either forgot to bring gloves or masks or BOTH. We had a supply of gloves and masks so we kindly asked them to wear them OUTSIDE the building and that they were not to touch any surfaces during the viewing and to maintain their distance. We then wiped down all the main surfaces (door handles, window handles, worktops, door panels etc) at the end of the viewing process.

Quite a few of the viewers told us that they were very impressed that we have these safety measures in place and that no other agent had any such stringent safety measures in place when they were viewing other flats earlier on in the day or in the week! This was very bad to hear that there are some agents out there who are willing to cut corners at the expense of clients safety and this is something we really do not understand.

Aside from the obvious health risks during this pandemic, it also begs the question as to whether those same agents are cutting other corners in many other topics within the sales or lettings process, for example:

- Government legislation when letting and managing properties

- Acceptable ethics when dealing with offers made

- Attention to detail when vetting and referencing tenants

- Disclosing important facts to each party during the negotiation process

We here at Courtneys have spent a great deal of time on our processes both before this pandemic and now during it. We will continue to do so after it hopefully becomes a distant memory - because everyone deserves the best in professionalism and transparency.

Thanks for reading and stay safe.

PS: If you would like to sell or let your property quickly, professionally and cost effectively, please feel free to call us on 0207 275 8000 or email: enq@courtneys-estates.com for honest, expert and friendly advice.

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