Your home is your haven, especially during this time of social distancing and self-isolating. So what’s the best way to go about ensuring our house is clean? More importantly, how can we minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus? As a top realtor in the City of Abbotsford, we want to ensure that our clients are receiving proper information, not just on homes for sale in their area, but more importantly, staying safe right now.

Consumer Reports has provided a list of common household products you can use to ensure your home is clean and safe. You can check out this list via their website.

In addition, the CDC has excellent 'how to' guidelines on how to clean a variety of surfaces, for example;

"Hard (Non-Porous) Surfaces:

• Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning. If reusable gloves are used, those gloves should be dedicated for cleaning and disinfection of surfaces for COVID-19 and should not be used for other purposes. Consult the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning and disinfection products used. Clean hands immediately after gloves are removed."

And please remember: when picking up cleaning supplies from the store, a little goes a long way! Only buy what you need in order to make sure there is enough on the store shelves for everyone.

We are often being asked if we are currently in a seller's market, or buyer's market right now. Most importantly, we want to ensure that it is a safe market.

With the economic landscape quickly shifting, people’s employment situations are changing, many lenders are offering mortgage payment deferrals if needed… Where does one start? This subject can easily feel overwhelming, but our friends at Browne Mortgages have got you covered! 

If you have a trusted mortgage advisor please call them for updates; but if you don’t:

The financing experts at Browne Mortgages have compiled a list of banks offering mortgage deferral plans, as well as their contact information.

Mortgage payment deferrals can help you during times of financial hardship — loss of employment due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The deferral is an agreement between you and your lender. It’s also known as a mortgage payment deferral agreement and is considered a temporary measure that in most cases does not affect your credit rating as it has been agreed to by yourself and your lender ahead of time.

Global News recently reported: "Before deferring any payments, financial experts say to check with your lender about their deferment options to make sure they are available. Generally, defaulting on payments would hurt your credit score, however, if you were given the green light you should be okay.

If a lender has given you permission to make payments, without penalizing you, then they should not be reporting that to your credit bureau, so you want to make sure you’re checking your credit regularly,” said Kelley Keehn, FP Canada Consumer Advocate."

The mortgage deferral agreement does not cancel, erase or eliminate the amount owed on your mortgage. At the end of the agreement, you will have to resume payment according to your regular payment schedule.

If you have been preapproved, be sure to talk to your broker about mortgage rates and interest rates today.

We miss your face!

Yes, we can connect over phone, text and email anytime! With recent social distancing and strong encouragement to stay home, we have quickly adapted our standard business practices to include video calls via Google, Facebook, Whatsapp and Zoom. This way we can connect face to face (electronically) and I can screen share to show you important information such as up to the minute MLS listings. We can even add others into the chat without the need for anyone to leave the comfort of their home.

Real estate has been deemed a non-health related essential service in BC, so we are still working hard ensuring all real estate listings, sales and purchases stay on track, and we are still available to anyone who has questions regarding buying or selling! We are seeing changes happening daily, it’s hard to keep up, that’s what we’re here for!

Everyone needs a place to live, and many sellers have sold their homes and their buyers are taking possession in the coming weeks/months – there are buyers who must buy during this time, and certain sellers who must sell! We can help! If you know of a friend or family member who would like to find a realtor to work with, we appreciate your referral so much!

In addition to strict social distancing, we are taking even further precautionary measures:

Although our agents are working remotely, and staying at home – we are here to help those buyers and sellers who must transact in the coming weeks/months. We are working hard to keep a roof over everyone’s heads! There are still new homes for sale in this current market every day. Though we are not seeing the same level of inventory available, there are still many people who are shopping for houses for sale.

If you need to buy or sell in the coming months, let us know – we can help! We are a top agent in your neighbourhood and are here for you with our years of experience. 

Remember, we are not only available to work for you in the City of Abbotsford, but in all of the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland.