Bienstock Group Family,
What we love to do during Corona and what we miss doing during Corona is insight into who we really are. During regular life, when we’re a part of society, there are things we do out of societal obligation, to fill other peoples’ expectations, and to “fit in” with our peers. During Corona, while we’re each isolated in our own homes and just doing our own thing, it’s interesting to stop and think about what we truly wish we could do and what we truly love to do when we get to choose.
What I love to do personally during Corona is dinner time with the people in my house. I love to plan and to make a nice dinner and to sit around the table all together with appetizing fresh food and a thought provoking discussion. I also love to get outdoors in our glorious Los Angeles weather.
Professionally, during Corona, I love to take extra time to figure out how to do the best I possibly can for sellers. I don’t like the CAR Corona forms because they unfavorably put the burden of Corona on sellers and take the burden of the uncertainty away from buyers. I find it unfair for a buyer to keep a contingency in place all the way to the close of escrow. If Corona makes a buyer cancel the day before escrow closes, the seller gets messed up while the buyer walks away. In our office, so far we’re not signing Corona forms. A buyer who wants to buy a listing of ours can negotiate a deal that works all around, do inspections and negotiate repairs, get loan approval and remove all contingencies, and THEN if they’re scared of Corona we can draft a custom escrow amendment that addresses fears and keeps it balanced and reciprocal and fair to all parties. I like fair all around. Buyers who legitimately negotiate for reasonable repairs and/or for reasons related to Corona are ok. Corona is a time when we should all respect each other more. I support everyone dealing honestly and fairly with each other always – more so during Corona. We’re ALL doing Corona together, buyers and sellers alike.
What I miss during Corona is strangers not being scared to stand too close to strangers. It feels like a warmer society when people stand closer, smile at each other without masks on their faces, shake hands and even give light hugs. People seem so scared of each other these days. Working hard and then playing hard by flying to a place of natural raw beauty, or even planning such an escape, is something I miss too.
What I miss professionally during Corona is open houses with lots of people walking through, banks lending with pre-Corona lending practices, tenants happy to pay rent and to show their property to potential buyers, buyers and sellers not being afraid of where values are going in the short term (long term everyone agrees values will bounce back and go higher.)
It continues to feel like prices on houses for sale in our market are stable and there still seems to be healthy demand and limited supply. The showings are half virtual and half social distancing showings. We got our first accepted offer today strictly from a virtual showing – I wonder if the escrow continues when the buyers see the house in person for the first time.
It will be cool to learn from Corona what we truly love so that when Corona ends, we can continue to do the things we loved to do during this time, put focus on doing the things we wished we could do during Corona while we couldn’t, and maybe not go back to doing some of the things we never really loved but that we did mostly out of obligation and peer pressure. Coming out of Corona living our best lives from the lessons we learned while we stayed at home will make this time worthwhile!
Lots of love!
Sheri
