What should you know about Phase 2 Heightened guidelines for real estate?

With the alarming rise of recent new COVID-19 cases plaguing our island country the past 2 weeks, the new measures of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) has been implemented. Here are some things that you should know about how the new Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures affect both agents and clients in real estate.

1. With the new announcements, no more than no more than two distinct persons a day may visit a property inhabited by a household when an agent conducts estate agency work. This means that at any given time, only one agent and one client must be on the property

2. In addition, door-to-door business activities and marketing of properties in public spaces, such as flyer distribution, must be temporarily suspended until further notice in line with new laws.

3. All mass and group activities must be conducted with the help of IT tools such as Zoom. If the activity cannot be done in person, for example to conduct a property transaction, standard of procedures (SOP) must be followed during the physical meeting, such as:

1. Wearing masks.

2. Maintaining a physical distance of at least 1 metre between two persons.

3. Encourage clients to postpone the viewing/conduct the property transaction if they are not feeling well.

4. As for viewings, virtual viewings via Zoom must first be encouraged. This is to ensure the reduced number of viewings that your client will need to decide on the property. If a need arises for a physical viewing - for example, to sign property transactions - this should be done in areas where safe management measures are in place such as the EA’s office. If there are physical viewings on a residential property, compliance to safety regulations is a priority and the cap of two distinct persons per household must be adhered to. Time spent with the client must also be minimised.

During the handover and takeover of rental properties, virtual meetings must first be arranged. During physical meetings for the handover and takeover of rental properties, interactions should be kept short and must adhere strictly to the

group size cap and/or daily visitor cap in compliance with the safety

precautions and contact tracing requirements. The adoption of contactless measures must be encouraged.

Still looking for more information on the appropriate measures to rent out or view a unit in compliance with Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)’s regulations? We are Pamela and Shirley, and we are here to help! Visit our website at www.wonderhomesg.com and drop us a call today!