At Partners International, we care about the safety of our clients, while not giving up providing brokerage services for buying and selling, as well as renting and leasing real estate. Almost from the beginning of the pandemic, we have implemented solutions that we used before, but now we use them on a much broader scale.
These include a virtual visit that allows you to show the premises, while answering all the questions that appear during the presentation on an ongoing basis. Our clients willingly appoint with us for such viewing online properties and thus verify that the offer meets their expectations. We make recordings only in premises where we can be sure that it will be possible without the participation of third parties.
Some legal issues can also be implemented remotely. For example, a brokering agreement, although it requires a written form under pain of nullity, can easily be done established by correspondence. The real estate agent sends it by e-mail, the client prints the document, signs it and sends it back by post, courier or leaves it in a mutually agreed place. An alternative solution is to sign the contract with an electronic signature by both parties. Under no circumstances does this require personal contact.
However, when concluding a contract for the sale / purchase of real estate, it is absolutely required that each party sign a notarial deed before a notary public. As the situation below shows, this can be remedied.
The signing of the notarial deed was to take place shortly after the ban on meetings for more than two people was introduced. So it was not known exactly what it would look like. Especially that one of the parties to the contract was a representative of the high risk group and the other one was a foreign client. In this situation, signing the act would require the presence of an interpreter, what ultimately would form a group of at least five people. The solution was to draw up a power of attorney. Both parties trusted me so much that they agreed that I would sign notarial deed on their behalf. Thanks to this, the document was signed solely by my and the notary public, and the whole procedure lasted only 30 minutes. – says Anna Szkudlarek, Real Estate Advisor at Partners International.
This example shows how important is to maintain good customer relationships. Certainly, the contracting parties’ confidence in the agent, built on the basis of his professionalism and reliability, had a great impact on this course of situation. The job of a real estate broker requires a lot of commitment, unblemished reputation, constant expansion of your knowledge and skills, but it also gives you a lot of satisfaction. There are also some funny situations nowadays when clients demand from us to organize an empty house without owners, and in turn the owners verify the health of clients in front of the house whether they can enter or not.
I am glad that as a real estate advisor I can be part of the process of fulfilling clients’ life dreams and when they are making by them the most important decisions. Especially in the face of a pandemic, having an own comfortable place to live takes on big significance. Quarantine time shows that regardless of whether it is a studio, a beautiful apartment with a panoramic view of the city or a house with a garden, we need to feel comfortable and safe in it. Regardless of how long the current condition will last, we will definitely learn from this lesson that the place – the house we are returning to at the end of the day – is an invaluable matter and that is why it is worth using the help of engaged advisor who knows the market well and will perfectly match the offer to our needs. – argues Dominika Majchrzak, Real Estate Advisor at Partners International.
It is also worth saying about how look the current presentations of real estate to the potential clients. Even if there are fewer of them, the market has not stopped and new transactions are still coming to fruition. The media and opinions of international experts definitely help here when agreeing that luxury real estate is the best investment.
Clients who decide to meet and view real estate are usually people who have moderate concerns about the current situation and the prevailing threats. Some of them are even ready to shake hands, but most wear a mask and gloves. I personally go to meetings fully prepared with a set of protective accessories and disinfectant liquid, using them all or selected, depending on what the client uses. In our culture, giving a hand in greeting is an expression of respect, which is why some people still automatically reflexively greet us this way. On the other hand, there are meetings during which clients constantly spray their faces with disinfectant. The fears of each of them are understandable to me. After the first meeting since the pandemic was announced, I thoroughly disinfected the entire interior of the car. Now I approach it in a slightly more balanced way. – says Daniel Zdrojowy, Sales Director at Partners International.
Due to the fact that our office is located on the island, as employees we have an extremely comfortable situation. The large office space allows us to maintain a safe distance from each other, and if necessary to meet with the client one-on-one. We agree on each other’s days and hours of presence in the office of each of us and thanks to this we can at least partially work in the office and feel safe. The opportunity to come to work is now a great holiday for me, which gives me a lot of energy to act and allows me to keep a plan so important in my life. Unfortunately it was taken out what we love the most in real estate agents work – personal contact with people. However, thanks to new technologies and all kinds of messengers we do our best. – says Dominika Majchrzak, Real Estate Advisor at Partners International.
Real estate brokerage during times of coronavirus is therefore possible, and customers are happy to use these services. Especially if they see full professionalism and commitment on the side of agency representatives. Therefore, by maintaining the necessary precautions and caring for each other’s safety, even in the era of coronavirus is possible successfully perform the work of a real estate agent.