Your Actions Impact Your Neighbors and Your Neighbors’ Actions Impact You
It is Your Duty to Protect Yourself and Your Clients

1. During Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have the privilege of continuing a limited amount of real estate practice.  With privilege comes responsibility.  It is your responsibility to follow these guidelines.  If you do not, we risk all being shut down completely.
2. No open houses. No Broker opens.
3. You can do what is necessary to complete sales in final stages / properties already in contract.
4. CONSIDER YOUR OFFICE CLOSED.  You can work from home. DO NOT TAKE THE PUBLIC TO YOUR OFFICE.  Responsible Brokers, managers, bookkeeping, administrative, maintenance and janitorial staff might need to be in the office occasionally. You might need to stop in to get supplies and tend to clients’ needs but keep your time there to a minimum particularly if others are there; consider scheduling visits when others are not there.  Follow your broker’s rules about office access.
5. Do everything you can to keep yourself healthy and teach others how to stay healthy. Follow CDC guidelines.
6. Offer sellers the opportunity to continue with showings or to change the status to Temporarily Off Market.  See sample form for this.
7. Speak to your responsible Broker about the use of the WAR COVID-19 addendum. Suggest Sellers and Buyers sign the COVID-19 clause addendum to Agreement of Sale to allow for delays in the transaction. See sample WAR form for this addendum.
8. Complete paperwork electronically except when necessary to have a “wet” signature. See Wyoming Secretary of State Guidance on Temporary Remote Online Notarization.
9. Keep physical contact with other people to a minimum.  When physical contact with other people is necessary, maintain a six foot separation between you.
10. Speak to your responsible Broker about the use of their COVID-19 risks WAR form. As part of arranging to meet with someone, ask them for specific information about their COVID-19 risks.  Offer them the same information about yourself.
11. When possible, don’t meet in confined spaces unless those spaces have been disinfected.  Meet outside if possible and practice social distancing.
12. Wash your hands before you leave home and when you return.  Keep hand sanitizer in your vehicle to use when returning to your car.
13. Disinfect your steering wheel, seat belt latches, handles, and controls.
14. Do not drive customers or clients in your vehicle.  They should drive alone in another vehicle or with people they already have been in recent contact with such as family members or roommates.
15. Disinfect your phone and keyboard regularly. Do not loan your phone to someone else.
16. Disinfect where you met with someone after the meeting.
17. Pre-screen potential buyers to make sure they have a need to look for a home now rather than waiting.
18. Do not physically meet with potential buyers or set up showings unless they are pre-qualified or pre-approved for their financing or offer proof of ability to buy without borrowing. In light of the current financial situation with lenders/banks, do not physically meet with buyers without proof of current financial pre-qualification.
19. Encourage the use of virtual tools such as high-quality photographs of listings, virtual tours, and interactive floor plans so that virtual showings can narrow the field of homes that must be viewed in person.
20. While showing a home, wear gloves and only spend enough time for the buyers to view what they need to in the home.  Go outside or in an open garage and stand apart to have conversations with buyers and sellers about the house.
21. Respect Sellers’ COVID-19 based requests while showing the home such as washing your hands if invited to do so, wearing gloves if available, and do not use the bathroom facilities of an occupied home and disinfect after using.
22. Don’t socialize face to face with your clients and others in the transaction. Keep your time together to a minimum. Be social by phone and other electronic means.
23. Don’t go to home inspections unless the buyer can’t be there.
24. Don’t meet the appraiser at the home.  Send information to the appraiser electronically.
25. Don’t go to settlement unless your presence is required by the settlement/closing agent. Join settlement by facetime or other electronic means if you want to be part of the process.
26. Use social media responsibly and not to entice people to leave their homes. Remember many are subject to an order to “shelter in place of residence”.
27. For sellers who need to list their homes, you can take new listings.
28. For buyers who need to buy you can negotiate Contracts to Buy and Sell Real Estate.
29. Display a positive attitude to help people through this. Do not panic, stay informed, and use your best judgment and common sense.

Disclaimer: The above guidelines are merely recommendations from the Teton Board of Realtors© and is solely a guideline for best practices, which are fluid and may change due to updated information on best practices.Decisions informed by these guidelines should also take into consideration additional public health guidelines based on your specific jurisdiction.