HOUSTON — (Realty News Report) — The HAR.com website, which lists thousands of homes for sale across Texas, has suspended display notices for open house events in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Most national real estate franchises and many large brokerage firms have either canceled in-person open houses outright or strongly advised their agents not to hold them. Realtors are being encouraged to use virtual open houses and video tours to limit in-person contact and help slow the spread of the virus.
“HAR is committed to doing its part to ensure that our Realtor members and real estate consumers are not unnecessarily putting themselves at risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus,” said HAR Chairman John Nugent. “We understand that many people still need to conduct real estate business, but HAR, along with the Austin Board of Realtors, believes this is the most responsible and health-conscious approach at this time.”
With stay-at-home orders issued in states such as California, Pennsylvania and New York, many Texas Realtors will continue providing services remotely. HAR offers tools to support remote transactions, including online transaction management, e-signatures, an internet-based Multiple Listing Service, and the various features available on HAR.com and its mobile app.
For buyers and sellers, Texas Realtors recently published a COVID-19 Addendum. This addendum allows for a 30-day extension of the closing date in residential sales contracts when a voluntary or mandatory COVID-19 quarantine or closure prevents a scheduled closing.
To help ease financial strain for its subscribers during this difficult period, HAR is waiving third-quarter Multiple Listing Service fees for most brokerage firms.
March 23, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
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