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NWIA offered a membership survey to all board members during April, 2020.  The Board of Directors and NWIA staff will use these results to plan future activities.  We thank everyone who took time to participate, and are happy to share the results with the membership.

Members are reminded they never need to wait for a survey to share their thoughts.  NWIA staff and the Board of Directors welcome feedback and  suggestions, and we invite our members to email or call anytime.

Results of the survey are viewable here.  Open ended text responses are in the second half of the report.

NWIA Suggested Protocol For Showings

• If buyers or sellers are feeling ill, or showing symptoms of illness, please DO NOT SHOW.
• Agents should only allow true buyers inside a property as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
• Children, parents, friends, colleagues and others should not be permitted at showings.
• If a party makes an offer, additional viewings can be arranged at a later date.

Sellers And Seller Agent

• If possible, turn all lights on and open all closet doors and some kitchen cabinets.
• If sellers have additional safety requests, please notify the buyers agent when scheduling a showing.
• Additional information may be placed in the showing instructions box in the MLS.

Buyers And Buyers Agent

• If the home is vacant or sellers are unable to prepare the house for showing (by turning on lights, opening doors, etc.) please use gloves or disinfectant wipes and do so yourself.
• If sellers request gloves be worn or disinfectant be used when entering house, please comply and ensure your clients do as well.
• Do not open appliances. This can be done during the home inspection process.
• Refrain from touching surfaces.
• Clients should not be permitted to use restrooms in a property.
• Leave everything as you found it.
• Clean the lockbox with disinfecting wipes or spray both before and after accessing it, and when leaving the property.

All MLS Members

• Normally NWIA’s MLS rules do not allow listings to stay in active status if showings are not allowed. Obviously, these are not normal times.
• If a seller still wishes for their property to be marketed yet they are not comfortable with in-person showings, NWIA will allow the property to stay in active status. “No Showings At This Time” should be noted in the showing instructions.
• Please note, this policy may change in the future as the pandemic evolves.

REMEMBER – everyone may not have symptoms, but we can all be carriers of this virus. Please do your part to protect our REALTOR family, and the clients who trust us with some of their life’s largest investments.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Welcome to the following new members who joined our organization in March.  We always enjoy seeing new faces in our association.  Please take time to welcome these members as you have opportunity. Contact information is in the member directory on our website.

Shauna Hovey, Keller Williams Siouxland
Omar Salcedo, Realty Associates
Jennifer Martinez-Alvarez, Keller Williams Siouxland
Karlie Throckmorton, Realty One Group Regency
Troy Griese Coldwell, Banker Associated Brokers
Dorinda Oostenink, Epic Realty

Many of us are working hard to make the most of our time during the current crisis.  Working now to equip yourself with new skills that will benefit you in the future is a great way to invest your time.  Consider these options for distance learning when you find yourself with some time on your hands.

Homesnap Pro University: Online learning with how-to tutorials, agent “deep dives” on topics of interest.  Includes a slew of upcoming webinars.

Up Your Skills In Paragon! Paragon has brought back their live webinar series with a full calendar of online training sessions.

NAR’s Right Tools, Right Now: NAR has relaunched this program in support of members at this critical time. It makes new and existing NAR products available for free, or at significant discounts.  There are webinars, education courses, digital tools and more.

Realtors Property Resource (RPR): With a large online learning library and a powerful tool just for REALTORS, investing in a little RPR learning is a valuable way to use this downtime to up your game. RPR is a benefit that’s included in your NAR membership. It gives REALTORS® access to data, tools and reports that can help you wow your clients and close more deals.  They are providing all types of ways for you to get started:

• Live Webinars: Sign up to participate in an RPR live education class
• Watch Now Webinars: Recorded webinars that you can watch and control at your own pace
• Video Tutorials: This introductory learning series includes 13 courses, each lasting less than 10 minutes. Each course has a printer-friendly handout, too
• Quick Start Guides: Brief, one to two page “cheat sheets” that show you how, step-by-step, to complete specific tasks within RPR
• eBooks: Downloadable, PDFs that show you, with plenty of detail, how to use RPR to conduct real estate business, such direct mail and geographic farming
• RPR Blog: Get news, tips, tricks, how-to’s, product announcements and more via our blog entries and articles

Commitment To Excellence (C2EX):  This is a great time to work toward completion of your C2EX endorsement!  There is no better way to show clients you are committed to the highest levels of professionalism in the industry than by achieving your C2EX.  This learning is FREE to all REALTOR members, and you can start and stop modules as time allows.

Online learning with the Iowa Association of REALTORS:  IAR offers a number of online classes through the ReSmarts platform.  If you need to catch up on a few CE credits, this is a great resource to use right now. Most classes are a very nominal fee and CE credit is available.  IAR is working to add more remote learning opportunities in the coming days, watch for more details.

The following information is shared as a courtesy to all NWIA members by the team at Century 21 ProLink. Below is the protocol they will be using under current circumstances. This document is being made available to all members to encourage evaluation of current operations and consideration of creating similar standards.  NWIA does not require any of these items be implemented, they are being passed along as suggestions for agents and offices to consider during these unprecedented times.

Wholesale adoption of the document below is allowed, if desired. Our thanks to the Century 21 ProLink team for their generosity in sharing.

Working with Sellers
When meeting with Sellers, use the following dialogue to demonstrate that CENTURY 21 ProLink has embraced the social responsibility inherent in the present circumstances by creating a set of protocols designed to minimize the risk and spread of the CV, and to garner client buy-in as a participant in the effort.

• Company buy-in: “Our Company has established a protocol to help minimize the risk of exposure to the virus and the risk of spreading the virus.”
• Agent buy-in: “I’d like to do my small part by being sure I follow the protocol because it’s so important right now.”
• Client buy-in: “So, if you don’t mind, we’ll just do the things they’ve asked me to do. Is that alright with you?”

At the Listing Appointment

• Advise the clients that our Company has established a showing protocol that you will follow: see Below
• Discuss the Open House/Brokers Open protocol should open houses be scheduled in the future. (3/18/2020 none being scheduled indefinitely.)
• Ask the Sellers to keep you advised during the listing of any change in their circumstances that may lead them to believe that a household member has been exposed to, or may have contracted, the coronavirus.
• Ask if Seller has been out of the country or state recently.
• Safety precautions and showing instructions will be posted for Buyer’s Agents and Buyers.
• Discuss how many people will be allowed at each showing.

Listing in MLS

• In the Remarks section of the MLS listing, request that Buyer Agent and his/her clients follow the protocol they’ll see upon entering the home.

Also, request that the Agent refrains from showing the home if the Agent/Clients are sick with a cough or sneezing.

Showings: Listings

• Discuss with your Sellers their concerns and what measures you can take in their home.
• Confirm how many people are allowed at the showing and convey that to the Buyer’s Agent.
• Sellers-turn on lights and open closet doors prior rather than have buyers doing so, and/or ask them to wipe off all door knobs and lights switches prior and following showings and the open house.
• Instructions for buyers agents & buyers will be posted at the door to look-do not touch surfaces, open doors, etc
• For your own precaution, Buyer Agents should have wipes if you are turning on lights, open doors, handling keys etc
• Enlist the Seller’s participation by having them agree to keep a Protocol Station adequately stocked with the supplies referenced below. It is suggested that this is supplied by the Listing Agent:
• Set up the “Protocol Station” at the entrance to the home with:
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Alternative: hand soap, paper towels and a wastebasket readily available at the kitchen sink.
  • Gloves
  • Tissues

Open Houses or Brokers Open–When scheduled again in the future:

• The Protocol Station (detailed below) will be a permanent fixture at the entrance to the home during the listing.
• Always enlist the Seller’s participation by having them agree to keep the Protocol Station adequately stocked with the supplies referenced below.
• Set up the “Protocol Station” at the entrance to the home with hand sanitizer, (alternative: hand soap, paper towels and a wastebasket readily available at the kitchen sink) gloves, tissues.
• Guest Log requesting/containing:
  • Agent Name
  • Agent Brokerage
  • Question: “Guest protocol followed? Y/N”
  • Shoe covers
• Instruction for Agent/Guests to, upon entering the home, make use of the items set out at the Protocol Station and complete the Guest Log.
• For Open Houses and Brokers Open, limit the number of guests in the home at any one time.
• The number of guests allowed in at one time will be at your discretion, keeping in mind that the idea is to practice Social Distancing and avoid individuals congregating in any one location.
• Do not leave listing feature sheets at the listing for visiting Buyers and their Agent.
• At Open Houses and Brokers Opens hand out listing feature sheets to visitors rather than leaving them in a stack at one or more locations.
• Don’t pass the pen for signing in at the open house-Agent should sign in all you are entering

Working With Buyers

When meeting with Buyers, use the following dialogue to demonstrate that CENTURY 21 Prolink has embraced the social responsibility inherent in the present circumstances by creating a set of protocols designed to minimize the risk and spread of the CV, and to garner client buy-in as a participant in the effort.

• Company buy-in: “Our Company has established a protocol to help minimize the risk of exposure to the virus and the risk of spreading the virus.”
• Agent buy-in: “I’d like to do my small part by being sure I follow the protocol because it’s so important right now.”
• Client buy-in: “So, if you don’t mind, we’ll just do the things they’ve asked me to do. Is that alright with you?”

Meeting Clients in the Office

• Before meeting with clients, clean the table you will be using with an anti-bacterial/anti-viral wipe.
• Have your clients use the hand sanitizer upon entering the office.
• Once in a conference room:
  • Advise the client that the office, including the conference rooms, are being sanitized on an ongoing, periodic basis throughout the day.
  • Have tissues and hand sanitizer on the table and readily available to the client.
  • Point out the location of the wastebasket where tissues and other refuse can be deposited
• After your meeting:
  • Clean all items from the table and dispose of all trash.
  • Collect all coffee cups and similar items and deposit them in the kitchen dishwasher.
  • Clean the table with a sanitizing wipe.
• Use hand sanitizer upon exiting the office.
• Front doors will be locked in both offices. Please schedule a time to meet with your clients and be available for when they arrive.

Showing Homes

• When making an appointment, advise the Listing Agent that our Company follows a CV protocol to limit the risk of spreading the virus. Explain what steps are taken.
• Confirm with Listing Agent how many people are allowed in the home at a time and abide by sellers wishes.
• Before entering the home, have all parties use hand sanitizer.
• Offer a new pair of disposable gloves to your clients.
• Have a small plastic bag available in your pocket or purse for disposal of the gloves upon exiting the home.
• Require that your client look only while inside the house, do not open doors, turn on lights, etc.
• Use hand sanitizer upon exiting the home.
• For your own precaution, Buyer Agents should have wipes if you are turning on lights, open doors, handling keys etc. Preferably Sellers should have this done prior to the showing but realistically this will not always happen.
• You may ask clients or others about their recent travel, particularly to areas identified as having an increased risk of coronavirus. To avoid potential fair housing issues, be sure to ask all clients the same screening questions based on current, factual information from public health authorities.
• You may refuse to drive clients who show signs of illness or reveal recent travel to areas of increased risk of coronavirus, or you may instead decide to stop driving clients in your car altogether, and simply arrange to meet clients at a property. If you do continue to drive clients in your car, it is a good idea to frequently clean and disinfect surfaces like door handles and seat belt latches, and to ask clients to use hand sanitizer when getting in and out of the car.