Q: We need to sell our home in Silicon Valley and buy in a less expensive Bay Area county. We are older adults now urgently rethinking the home-selling process. We tried to buy a replacement home before the state’s mask-wearing mandate expired. We plan to purchase a home contingent upon the sale of our current residence. While shopping for a replacement home in other counties, most open-house visitors are not wearing face coverings. The new-home salesperson was not wearing a face covering at one housing tract. This disregard for us older adults as customers was alarming.
Thankfully, our county still requires indoor face coverings. Last month, over 100 visitors attended the open house down our street. The neighbors said it was a vacant house for sale. In our case, we need to live here while we sell the property. We also know middle-age people who were fully vaccinated, boosted and came down with COVID-19. What safe steps can older adults take while buying and selling simultaneously?
A: You are correct that in Santa Clara County, aka Silicon Valley or Santa Clara Valley, the indoor requirement for face coverings remains the policy. You and your seller’s agent can also restrict the length of each visit and the number of people during the property tours.
Simultaneously buying and selling homes is a lost art rarely practiced by today’s agents. Luckily, you’re home shopping in less densely populated Bay Area counties in today’s market. The seller’s agents in those areas know your Silicon Valley house will sell twice as fast and for three times the cost of the home they are selling. Some homes in the greater Bay Area can take weeks to sell. In Silicon Valley, houses sell in hours or days.
You’ll need a buyer’s agent who will arrange private showings to avoid the crowds. If new homes appeal to you, be the first homebuyers waiting when the new-home salesperson arrives in the morning to open the sales office. Home shopping on weekday mornings also dramatically increases the chances you’ll be alone with a real estate agent. Don’t be timid about asking real estate salespeople to wear face coverings while showing you a property. Rest assured, they won’t be apprehensive about selling you a replacement property.
Questions? Realtor Pat Kapowich is a Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager and career-long consumer protection advocate. His hometown of Sunnyvale, California, is where he is based. Office: 408-245-7700, [email protected] Broker# 00979413 www.YouTube.com/PatKapowich
