Posted on Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Following Monday evening's announcement by the Prime Minister that England will move to a new national lockdown, estate agents and lettings agents can continue to work and house moves are permitted to go ahead.
The government guidance states:
"You can still move home. People outside your household or support bubble should not help with moving house unless absolutely necessary. Estate and letting agents and removals firms can continue to work. If you are looking to move, you can go to property viewings. Follow the national guidance on moving home safely, which includes advice on social distancing, letting fresh air in, and wearing a face covering."
The national lockdown requires that under UK Coronavirus Alert Level 5, people across England must stay at home, except for very limited exceptions.
Responsible behaviour by everyone involved and adherence to safety guidance throughout is more important than ever.
After a quieter than usual festive break, Barbers returned to work looking forward to something approaching a more normal 2021, only to receive the news of a national lockdown.
One major difference between this national lockdown and the initial lockdown in March 2020 is that home-moving and associated activities for sellers, buyers and renters is allowed, but still under very strict anti-COVID compliant conditions.
The link to the latest government guidance on home-moving during coronavirus is below. This is essentially the guidance that we at Barbers have been complying with since we came out of the first national lockdown in May 2020 and helps to ensure the safety of our staff, clients, suppliers and customers.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak
We will continue with the locked door policy of our offices and visits to our offices are only allowed by prior appointment.
All viewing requests will, where possible and available, start with a video tour of the property prior to making a physical viewing appointment .This, together with greater qualification of viewing requests to ensure that applicants meet with client requirements and timescales, helps reduce the number of casual viewings .
Since the property market reopened in May 2020, Barbers have successfully adapted our working practices through a combination of good traditional values and enhanced customer service. Our traditional values, such as determined hard work and local expertise, combined with the assistance of the latest technology have enabled us to achieve extraordinary business levels of sales and lettings, mostly achieving increased prices for our clients.
We are still working within the strict safety guidelines, but despite the national lockdown the very early signs are that we are expecting a busy start to the property market in 2021 here in Shropshire. The reasons for this are likely to satisfy the pent up demand for property and also to accommodate those wishing to relocate to our very attractive and more thinly populated part of the country, which still remains accessible to the larger conurbations
Whether you are looking to sell or let a property, we can still be readily contacted here at Barbers by email or phone for either preliminary or more detailed valuation and marketing advice. Any appointments will be dealt with following strict safety guidelines.
With best safe wishes for all.
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