Is it time to speed up the sale of a private residence?

[Sophie Dolezel]

Hello, I have a private residence in the Bellevue area (PNW) and am thinking that we should probably sell now. ( we would need to sell it anyways in the near future but I'm worried that the market will tank and renting it out isn't an option for our situation) 
I'm a new investor ( with zero experience). What would be your suggestion on how to go about it in this lockdown situation? We obviously can't vacate the property to do a showing. Should we do a virtual tour? Should we try to sell the house ourselves or through an agent? (I'm in the process of studying for the real estate exam but I'm afraid that we need to sell it before I get licensed) Any other help or words of wisdom you can offer would be really appreciated. Thank you!

[Jonathan Bombaci]

We are telling clients not to list their house until this is over especially if it is occupied. Virtual tours are great but would you buy a car without test driving it? No one is going to buy your house at market value without walking through it. You could sell it to a wholesaler or investor at 70% market value with just a video tour but you won’t get a retail buyer.

Our plan of action given the current environment is to list the new properties as "coming soon" on Zillow and other sites now with the photos and video tours to gain momentum but we won't actually list it for sale on MLS until we're able to get people in to see it.

I always recommend using a real estate agent and when I buy/sell out of state I use real estate agents myself. If you get a good agent they more than earn the commission and help you sell the house faster and for more money. Plus with everything going on the agent will be able to help you navigate the industry during this time of uncertainty.

Best of luck!

Jon