THE importance of property inspection in consummating a real estate transaction (whether for valuations, sale, letting etc) cannot be over emphasised. A physical review of the inherent attributes of a property is required to be able to make informed decisions regarding appraisal, sales or letting as the case may be. As the popular maxim goes, “there is no sale by description in real estate.” The present wave of the Covid – 19 pandemic being fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant which we are presently witnessing in Nigeria has brought home the reality that the pandemic is here to stay at least in the short to medium term, in view of the fact that vaccinations needed to achieve herd immunity will not be achieved in Nigeria until sometime in 2022 or even later.
In view of the foregoing it has become imperative for the real estate practitioners (particularly estate surveyors and valuers) to think outside the ‘box’ in order to arrange property inspection, which is a vital part of our day to day routine, since the likelihood of consummating a sale / letting is dependent on inspection of the property under consideration. Based on the above premise and the need to come out with more creative ways to operate in the Covid – 19 era and beyond, the following trends are becoming the “new normal” in property inspections / viewing: Practitioners are now more than ever leveraging on technology in order to carry out inspections / viewing of properties in this wise applications like Zoom, Facetime, Teams, Virtual tours, and Whatsapp are being deployed to enable clients view properties real time / off line.
Based on guidance provided by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)/Presidential Panel on Covid – 19, traditional viewing of properties are now being made Covid compliant as practitioners are insisting on the following: physical distancing (the 2 metre rule), must be strictly observed. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) /face masks as a mandatory requirement for all participants in the inspection process is important. Then there is the washing of hands / use of hand sanitizers. If any party (either the surveyor or client) notices any symptoms of feeling unwell, they are required to call before hand to cancel / re-schedule the inspection and self-isolate .
Another variant of the above is to schedule viewing times with different clients to make sure that no two clients view a property at the same time. All the COVID-19 protocols mentioned earlier should be strictly adhered to by each group, with each group having only the barest minimum number of key participants. COVID-19 has become the ‘new normal’ and if projections by health experts is anything to go by, it will be with us for some time to come. In order not to become infected by the virus and the attendant health problems, practitioners will do well to adhere to the commonsensical protocols and earn income safely during this pandemic. I urge all stakeholders to stay calm and keep safe.
- Adedibu writes in via [email protected]