With the new variant of Covid-19 causing a significant increase in the infections throughout the country, The Guild of Property Professionals is reminding all agents that it is imperative that they act within a Covid-secure manner to ensure the safety of both the public and themselves.
Paul Offley, compliance officer at The Guild, says government guidance stipulates that people in England are still permitted to move homes and estate and lettings agents can continue to work. But the announced new measures by the government and a national lockdown to mitigate the spread of the virus is another reminder to the property sector that it is imperative to act within Covid-secure rules.
He adds that the robust Covid-secure polices in place within the property sector have been what has kept the sector and people moving.
Offley commented: “With the rate of infections increasing once again due to the highly contagious variant of Covid-19 making its way through the country, now more than ever agents have an obligation to continue to act within a safe manner to ensure that they are protecting the public and doing what they can to minimise the spread of the virus.
“While physical viewings may be permitted by the government, given the current circumstances and resurgence of the virus, agents should ensure that physical viewings only take place as the very last step once they have gone through much of the process with potential buyers virtually. In fact, I would go as far as to say that in the current situation with the increased rate of infections, agents have a moral obligation to ensure that all buyers are taken through the process of virtually viewing a property before any face-to-face appointment takes place.
“Buyers should also consider whether there is a genuine need for the appointment to take place now or consider whether the appointment could be deferred until restrictions are eased.”
While many industries have been negatively impacted by the pandemic over the course of 2020 with lockdowns, the Tier system and forced closures, since the reopening of the property market after the initial lockdown, people have continually been allowed to move home and agents have been able to assist them to do so.
Offley added: “As one of the few sectors that have continued to be able to operate, we need to continue to ensure we are acting according to the prescribed health guidelines to help keep both clients and staff members safe during this wave of the virus.”
Comments (15)
We have sales and lettings. I run lettings and can see where virtual tours are a winner. We have seen a lot of success with it and I think there is more confidence in taking a property based on a virtual tour because if there is anything wrong it can be fixed. On the other hand for sales I do see why virtual tours can’t be relied upon for tying up a sale, a physical viewing will always be needed. So if it weeds out the time wasters great but it will never eliminate viewings. Once this is all over I expect viewings will be back in fashion for both sales and lettings anyway and at that point virtual tours for lettings will just be a buffer for time wasters much the same as sales.I agree as much info that can be given on the advert (virtual tours, floor plans etc) can only be a good thing if only for making sure the people viewing are fully motivated.
My experience of virtual viewings last Spring was a total waste of time. Buyers, understandably, still want to view physically before committing. Much better to properly qualify buyers and tenants, amazingly still a rare skill, and then dissuade them from seeing what they shouldn’t (hard if you get targeted on viewings, which nobody should be in my view). We are limiting viewings solely to buyers and tenants in a position to proceed today which thins the herd a fair amount.
Virtual viewings are about creating engaging online content that attracts more interest in the property and results in more physical viewing requests. You can then filter those requests due to Covid, to only allows proceedable buyers to physically visit. They are not really a substitute for physically viewing.
and we’re off…
Virtual viewing this, virtual viewing that… what a load of ******* tosh. (I must be getting too old in this job)
Any half-whit potential buyer who phoned wanting to view a house after being shown a VT would say, “yeh I still like it thanks, can I go now please?” and what then… other than the odd slightly gullible EA thinking, “oh yeh… my VT sold that, lets get em around” (no dopey, they did what is known as going through the motions with you, AKA added an extra layer of shite to your day)
For me, it is either full lockdown and no more viewings full stop
OR the legislation needs to be changed to say “you can still view property, however the estate agent will require proof of your ability to proceed, so it is advised you contact you bank, building society or mortgage broker to get documentation to confirm you have funds in place or have been granted a mortgage in principle”. Estate Agents have been told not to show people around property who cannot prove their ability to proceed and complete.
The latter for me is a win win, reduce quantity, increases quality AND stops staff from being abused when they ask now.
Understand what you say Ric, but from our experience, the reality is fewer physical viewings off the back of offering virtual viewings, without anyone getting annoyed. Of course if they still want to physically view after a virtual view, then provided they’re properly qualified, it’s all good!
How many physical viewings prove worthless within 30 seconds as a result of buyer seeing something that doesn’t work for them? This situation is largely avoided because of virtual viewings, as long as the vid/setup good enough.
Ok humour me, so you have done 10 VV’s and 6 say no it’s not for me. So you now think…
1. You’ve done a great job, your VV stopped 60% of them wasting everyones time.
2. 60% of them missed the vibe, the feel of true spacial awareness of the home, so couldn’t get a feel for the potential changes which could make it work? (we’ve all had people say, I didn’t expect to like it so much)
3. Your VV was not great and you lost a sale because of it, because you set out to reduce the physical viewing count which sells a property, but no way would you report that to the seller.
Not sure what our job is, people over the door step was always a saying for me… still is… oh to be safe though…. then we lockdown or only allow people who can buy. (VT’s have become a brilliant excuse)
But alas, I understand we now try to reduce viewings as a sales industry.
Outside of lockdown, we have cancelled/had cancelled lots of viewings after people have viewed a video/360 tour, as they can see more than a well positioned photos.
I agree Ric, you must be getting old if you don’t see the benefit of video in this day and age. I must say, its helped more in lettings than sales.
I also agree, that it should be no viewings at all right now, how ridiculous that we can put our staff out there to do viewings with go knows who, but can’t see our family for a brew!
Seriously, the point is a “time waster” who is keen to view, will simply look at a VT and still request to view.
LETTINGS, is a DEFO!!! Couldn’t agree more and do think there is a huge place for it in lettings. We would pay over £4k or £5k sometimes for a holiday for 14 days off a picture and few videos… and oddly I liken this to lettings and feel tenants would potential transact from VTs… so 100% agree… argh, I wish I had said that first… BUT
SALES… nah… they are nice, have a nosey bla bla… but the point of VTs being the barrier to stop time wasters is just daft. A time waster by definition knows how to waste time… they have wasted your time twice over when they nod in the right places and still view.
The only way to reduce risk but keep the market open is to 100% insist in my opinion POF is mandatory to view. Serious buyers will show and the time wasters will drop out.
May 13th green light to the market proved this for me… the quality was amazing because we as an industry was petrified of being told to work again and we self managed this and many made bloody good money, listing at 95% rates and viewing to sale agreed ratios were amazing.
Oh well… I am old, and will continue to add VT’s as I follow the trend but the industry needs better protection / legislation than look at a VT first… and then view. Decent and plenty of excellent photos works just as well, but still most people will look at a floorplan, address and price.
I cant disagree with anything in this last post, ultimtaley a time waster is a time waster, nothing will change that. Yes we are #1 or #2, depends on what stats you look at and the day, our fees are also the highest.
I will say, lettings has been our biggest win for video/360’s. They get this first, make an initial application (information gathering), and we then decide the best people to view. Just getting them to fill out the application and provide the info is a qualifier in itself! We have saved so much time and been able to pick the better applicants first, forget covid, there is a massive business benefit right there!
How do agents expect someone to take a property from a VT yet i bet no one in that agency would if it was them! I agree, how can some agents be in an office of 6, go on viewings with various people they don’t know from Adam, yet they can not see their family! its double standards and all agents should be working from home or closed.
Yes Ric! love the more passionate side of agents.
We have been using the Rolls Royce of virtual tours for almost 5 years. We heavily market it and shout about it and no doubt it is an INSTRUCTION winner.
BUT NEVER has it sold a property, and any idiot buyer calling me to buy off the back of a VT will be told to view it in person before we even discuss offers.
Hey Smile, HNY.
We/I do use them AND offer ALL vendors the choice but amazing how so many are simply not interested. So many saying they don’t see the point because they themselves would not buy without viewing and then I find myself becoming a tad uncomfortable saying… a VT is designed to reduce the amount of people coming in. Jesus, shite photos can look after that.
We do our own 4k VTs if required but have used the 360 degree tours which were without question impressive… but other than I could say “people watched them” I just do not think they should be used as the industry’s plea for reducing physical viewings, because they just will not do what that message is about.
TBF today and yesterday we are so quiet, so I suspect a combination of week 1 in January and the new Lockdown means the MIGHT MOVERS are leaving us alone anyway and only the MUST/NEED TO MOVERS are active requesting physical viewings.
Demanding POF and chain checking thins the herd as Surrey1 says. We’ve had one person today, who started off as U/Offer (private sale), then changed to they can buy without selling and then ended up saying they are due to go on the market next week… WTF dude… go for a walk or something.
I’m amazed at the amount of agents not doing videos or 360 tours. Of 21 agents in my town there are only 2 doing them!
Can I ask… are they 1st and 2nd in the table of leading agents in your area?
If they are, perhaps with that many agents a USP is hard to come by and works…
Do professional agents really need the Guild preaching to them about their moral obligations?
It’s obvious from the comments yesterday that agents are being sensible.