There are many ways for property managers to try to mitigate the dangers of COVID-19 for residents, staff members and themselves. It is seriously important to keep up to date on public health guidelines, and below are seven tips to help steer you and help you thrive through these challenging times.

Prioritize Maintenance

Your duties as a property manager vary. During COVID-19 you will need to limit physical contact between maintenance staff and residents. When maintenance issues arise consider whether the problem is life-threatening or if it is an immediate threat to the property before dispatching employees. If the issue can be resolved virtually use that option. Routine maintenance on building mechanicals should continue to be done to avoid larger problems that may require more physical contact.

Cleaning 

Be aware of health department guidelines about cleaning product efficacy. Disinfectants must be applied using a strategy that minimizes your employees contact with the chemicals. Provide protective gear like masks, gloves, eye coverings and for some products full body disposable suits. These measures may not be physically comfortable but are necessary to the health of your employees. Clean common areas often, especially elevators, railings, and pulls on trash chutes and doorknobs. Touch-less entry systems may be a good investment at this time.

, who offer residential and commercial property management, states that landlords and property managers can help control the spread of COVID-19 by helping tenants follow good hygiene practices:

“The health and wellbeing of our tenants is a top priority for property managers. We recommend drawing up a plan which will include how your agency will handle and identify Coronavirus cases and emergencies, and how you will reinforce cleanliness and sanitation across your properties or common areas, such as setting up hand sanitizer stations. Providing tenants and landlords with consistent updates will make sure they feel connected and looked after in these troubling times.”

Communication

As the property manager it is your responsibility to be in contact with residents and staff. The easiest method is through email. If your tenants and staff are not able to access virtual communication send flyers and post to bulletin boards on each floor. Everyone will appreciate consistent and regular information concerning the building. Try to keep communication friendly and informative. During COVID-19 people are especially vulnerable to misinformation. Be factual and kind when writing notices, even when you need to admonish behavior that disregards health guidelines. 

Protocols in Place

Do not wait for an emergency to happen before you plan the appropriate response. Just like installing fire extinguishers and emergency exit plans, you must have a plan in place to deal with outbreaks of COVID-19 in your buildings. Your response plan will depend on the number of units in a building, accessibility to the building for tenants and mobility of residents. Amenities such as club rooms, workout facilities and swimming pools must be closed per health department orders.��

Maintenance Personnel

Communication with your staff is important during COVID-19. Staff members risk their own health when coming into close contact with residents. Make sure you provide personal protective gear for them. Take staff concerns seriously, listen to them when they express concern about the building or tenant’s behavior concerning social distancing or mask-wearing. If a maintenance person must be dispatched to a unit, ask the resident if they are ill before sending someone. This is also a great time to express your appreciation for your staff.�� And tell your employees that if they themselves are sick,�� they should stay home.��

Go Virtual 

Whether you’re renting a Wicker Park apartment in Chicago for an expensive price tag or a small suburban home in Wisconsin, it doesn’t matter, a vacancy is still costly but during COVID-19 an open house is out of the question. There are other ways to show a property with ; virtual tours may be the method for showing all property in the future. A virtual tour can be made using your smartphone and the video posted to the building’s website. In buildings with remote locks people who have seen the virtual can do a self-tour. After someone has been in a unit make sure that all touch points are properly sanitized. Eliminating physical contact with prospective tenants is the logical thing to do. Contracts and deposits can be done virtually using apps like DocuSign and Venmo.

Your Health Department

Keep in touch with the local health department; they are working to help slow the spread of COVID-19. As a resource the health department can guide you through procedures if someone in your building is ill.��

Current laws prohibit making anyone else’s health status public. Your residents will want to know details and there are guidelines the health department can share with you about the information you are able to divulge. It is not the duty of the property manager to screen residents as they enter the building nor is it their duty to notify residents of an incident of COVID-19. Call the health department and they will take the necessary steps to notify residents and perform contact tracings.

Daunting as it seems, with solid communication between residents and staff, you, as the property manager will be able to help everyone function safely throughout COVID-19.

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Coronavirus impacted the world, throughout workplaces healthcare, recreational time and much more. Home design is another field that may be forever changed due to the pandemic. With many people spending more time at home, homeowners are shifting their idea of a dream home and its necessary features. Here are five designs that may become the new norm in a post COVID-19 home.

The Essential Home Office

As office workers adjusted to working remotely, the need for the home office became apparent. Before COVID-19 many saw the home office as a use for an extra space or bedroom, but not a necessity. Now with entire families having to share a home and workspace under one roof, it is important to have a space where meetings and important phone calls can take place away from distraction. Post Coronavirus homes will need to create a space that can either be in a separate room or a desk area in an already existing room, designed for privacy and efficiency.

Secure Entryways

Many homes have entryways for guests to place shoes and coats before entering the main living spaces. But as we become more accustomed to disinfecting our hands and belongings once we come indoors, it may become a design trend to create more functional entryways or mudrooms, with a hand-washing station or just a more defined space to put others’ belongings to reduce the number of bacteria and germs from entering the home.

Higher Degree of Organization

The longer you were in isolation, the more likely it was for you to pick up a new habit or activity! For some, that meant finally taking the time to organize those closets and drawers you’ve been putting off for far too long. As you start to design different areas in your home, you may be drawn to designs that allow for easy organization. More shelving, built-in dividers or pull-out containers are all great ideas to keep your house in great shape throughout the years.

Functional Kitchens

Like mentioned above, many of us took up some new hobbies, and a big one was cooking. Some of you may have barely used your kitchen before COVID-19 made it impossible to go out to eat, but now consider yourself to be an amateur chef! As more people shift to cooking meals at home, the importance of a functional kitchen increases. Bigger stoves for more dishes or new built-in kitchen gadgets will help you hone your cooking skills and make it more fun.

More Spaces to Entertain

A home is a great place to invite guests over, cook, play games or just chat. But when your home becomes the only place you feel safe interacting with others, it’s important that you have the perfect area to entertain. Designers now believe that while some restaurants have begun opening their dining rooms again, at-home entertaining will be more popular than ever, for homeowners to begin the transition into seeing family and friends again in a controlled environment. These spaces could be a well thought out patio for outdoor barbecues or maybe a comfy living space for games and discussion.

Overall, as you try to get back to normal, look around your home and see what you could have used more or less of during this extra time inside. Think about your new favorite activities and how your home could help encourage you to continue them. Your home became your safe place during uncertain times, so now it’s time to make it your own personal oasis.

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These are rare times, when you’re forced to work from home and no commute! How could you spend your time? You could read Hemingway, tend that garden or binge-watch Netflix.

Or, you could use the time to polish your sales and tech skills, set up a lead nurture campaign or record a video email. Maybe find a new perspective on your business approach.��

If you can’t show or sell houses right now, why not use the time wisely in other ways? Here are eight ideas.

1. Sync your CRM

Tag your As, Bs and Cs and note their sources of lead origination. By  with your  system, you can leverage synced contacts to reach out to past and future clients in new, personal ways while better tracking your ROI. 

2. Work on Lead Gen

Now’s the time to segment that database and draft specific messaging for contacts in different phases of the lead funnel. Try customized video emails to send prospects video walkthroughs or check in with past customers who may be contemplating listing.

3. Get CE Credits & Tech Training

If that license is coming up for renewal, use this time to get CE credits online. , for instance, has partnered with  to offer online CE credits in a growing number of states across the U.S. In addition:

Weekly Webinars:��Agents, admins and teams can also sign up for free, weekly basic and advanced��. Recently, dotloop added a second advanced course through the end of May.

Customized Webinars:��Anyone interested in a customized webinar for individuals, teams or brokerage can visit��

Certified Training:��This comprehensive����will help you streamline transactions by mastering basic and advanced skills.��

4. Start a Nurture Campaign

Keep the lines of communication open with a regular cadence of new email content, offering support, advice and insight. Maybe send a video email, then call a variety of people everyday as followup to make a human connection. Dotloop integration partner BombBomb lets you sync contacts from your loops (transactions) into  to connect easily with clients using face-to-face pre-recorded video and then track and measure results. This can be especially helpful for team leads who want to take advantage of the app’s team inbox stats dashboard. 

5. Give Back

A crisis like coronavirus helps the community come together. Real estate agents are in a unique position to organize and lead by example as ambassadors to the community. To reach the most vulnerable, you might organize a network of volunteers to run basic errands for the elderly or feed first responders. Leverage your network to reach a wider audience with no sales talk, just goodwill.

6. Host a Webinar

Teach homeowners how to  so they’ll be first to market when the shelter in place orders lifts. You can guide them on how to record their own video tour, line up contractors, improve their curb appeal or offer tips to prep the interior of their home for future showings.

7. Offer a Fun Break

Cincinnati agent��Amy Broghamer��attracted a great deal of attention for her “Dinner on Amy” Facebook campaign, an effort to benefit local restaurants while rewarding five lucky winners for taking selfies and posting them on her page. Campaigns like these offer a fun break from the stress and help further an agent’s reputation long into the future.��

8. Check In

A well-placed line of communication can go far in reaching past and future clients in powerful ways. Simply check in and let contacts know you’re here for them. Maybe offer tips to keep the kids busy or creative ways to make their home a more comfortable place to live. Staying connected not only helps business in the long run but will also help everyone keep their mental health in check as we ride out the storm together.

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