How to Move While Social Distancing

How to Move While Social Distancing

Summer is one of the most popular times to move, but how do you gather your friends, family, or hired movers together safely while practicing safe social distancing? Whoever you recruit to help move your belongings from point a to point b, here are some tips to help you and your family stay safe.

Provide Essentials. Make sure you have soap, water, hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, and shoe covers available during your move. These items, when used correctly, can help prevent the spread of germs.

Set Some Ground Rules. Whether the people helping you move are there as volunteers or earning a living, you should take charge and outline basic precautions you want everyone to use. Ask your helpers to wear a mask, wash or sanitize their hands often, and stay 6 feet apart whenever possible.

Use New Boxes Experts estimate that cardboard can carry COVID-19 for 24 hours, so it may be best to invest in new boxes instead of opting for used boxes for your next move. You can purchase moving boxes from most moving or storage companies.

Sanitize Before and After the Move Sanitize your furniture, boxes, and household touch points before your moving help arrives to help create a safe moving environment. You should also sanitize these items after unloading them at your new house.

What You Need to Know about Gift Letters

Buying a house can involve a lot of up front expenses. It can be hard to save up enough cash to cover inspections, closing costs, and down payments all on your own, especially while paying other expenses such as rent, student loans, and car payments. It’s not uncommon for loved ones to offer to help ease the financial burden, but before you accept cash to help buy your home, you’re going to need a gift letter.

Gift letters are documents stating that someone, often a parent or other family member, is giving a mortgage applicant money to help them purchase a home. The gift letter will typically include who is giving the money, who is receiving the money, the amount being gifted, and a statement declaring that the sum is being given with no expectation of the money being repaid.

The gift letter shows your mortgage lender where that money came from and lets them know that the gifter will not be able to claim they are a lender, and therefore cannot issue a lien on the property.

If you are planning to use gifted funds to help purchase your next home, make sure your lender is aware sooner, rather than later.

Protecting Your Family During Cold and Flu Season

You may already have your home’s sanitation plan up and running, but if not, here are some easy tips to help keep your home spic and span during cold and flu season.

Clean Common Touch Points Often! Some of the most commonly touched places in your home may be ones that aren’t on your cleaning list. Make sure door handles, stair railings, light switches, faucet handles, and drawer pulls are being cleaned at least as often as your tables and countertops.

Don’t Share. Sharing doesn’t always mean caring. Make sure everyone in the household is using their own cups and utensils for eating and drinking. Also, make sure no one’s toothbrushes are touching to prevent the spread of germs.

Wash Overlooked Items Purses, backpacks, shoes, and other items that make frequent trips outside your home should be washed or sanitized to ensure they aren’t harboring germs, viruses, or bacteria. Other overlooked items that could use some sanitizing include your phone, tablet, keyboard, remotes, and other electronic devices. Just remember to use an electronic safe cleaning pad to wipe down those surfaces to avoid damaging your devices.

Whatever your plans look like this month, I wish you the best! And, remember, if you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, let me know. I’m here to help.