Page 4 - The NY Cooperator August 2020

4 THE COOPERATOR — AUGUST 2020 COOPERATOR.COM PULSE Industry Pulse Events The Cooperator Introduces FREE Webinars—a New Resource for Boards and Managers at cooperator.com/events The Cooperator, a Yale Robbins publication, has been a resource for the boards, manag- ers, and residents of co-ops, condos, and HOAs for nearly two decades, both in print and online—and we are pleased to announce a new addition to our toolkit. Yale Robbins Productions has launched Cooperator Events, a new series of FREE educational ‘town-hall’ style webinars, sponsored by leaders in the multifamily industry and focusing on issues and challenges facing today’s boards. We have assembled expert panels on everything from legal questions around the COVID- 19 pandemic to optimizing your insurance coverage to disinfecting your community’s pool. Registration and attendance are FREE to all—just visit cooperator.com/events, choose the webinar you’d like to attend, and sign up. It’s that simple. You’ll get an email link and reminders for the event, and will have the opportunity to submit questions for the panelists before AND during the webi- nar itself. Past events are archived and avail- able on-demand on cooperator.com/events. Serving on your board is a big job, and a big responsibility, but sound, timely advice from industry veterans can help lighten the load and make your building or association run more smoothly. We’re committed to helping you achieve that, and look forward to ‘seeing’ you at an upcoming webinar! Trends Residential Brokers Adapt as Showings Resume Bloomberg Quint is one among an array of outlets reporting on the adjustments and adaptations that real estate agents are using to conduct residential transactions in the midst of the ongoing pandemic. With in-person apartment showings off limits for several months, many in the industry transitioned to virtual showings, giving potential buyers the ability to see the space and features of a unit without physically visiting it. Now that New York is progressing beyond its first phase of reopening, brokers are begin- ning to return to their tried-and-true method of showing apartments in person, “just with fewer handshakes, more sanitizer, masks, temperature checks, and even trips up the service elevator,” as Bloomberg Quint tells it. Additional precautionary measures vary. At one Park Avenue building cited by Bloom- berg Quint , brokers have to sign health forms and submit to temperature checks before entering through the back elevator. They’re required to wear protective booties on their shoes and are forbidden from touching any- thing once inside the apartment, according to Michele Kleier, president of Kleier Resi- dential. Some buildings in the city are not even letting brokers in; others are limiting the number of showings per day. Bloomberg Quint also reports that Jacky Teplitzky and Barak Dunayer, a team of brokers at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, tried to show a buyer a co-op near Lincoln Center, but the building turned them away. Although Phase 2 of the governor’s re- opening plan has coincided with the start of summer, which traditionally is a slow time in residential real estate in the state, some New York brokers have reported that the state’s and city’s relaxing of COVID-19-related re- strictions has generated a renewed vigor in the market. With six showings on the first day of Phase 2 (June 22), Ignacio Cesped, an agent at the brokerage Elegran, told Bloom- berg Quint , “I’ve never seen people so excited. Everybody was super happy being able to see things, even if they don’t like it.” Steven James, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman New York City, tells The Cooperator, “While we began showing prop- erties only this past Monday after a three month pause from showing, we are starting to see far more interest from consumers and clearly setting up appointments to show and to submit offers to sellers. We are encouraged from what we are seeing in the marketplace.” Bloomberg Quint points out that the only people allowed at showings will be serious buyers—“no entourage of friends, children, and decorators tagging along to share their input,” as the outlet attributes to Sabrina Klei- er Morgenstern, executive vice president at Kleier Residential. While buyers can now see an apartment, the amenities in most build- ings, like gyms and pools, are still closed and therefore cannot be shown to prospective buyers. Brokers must abide by state regulations, Bloomberg Quint incidates, including re- quired cleanings between tours. They are also subject to guidelines established by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), which require agents for sellers to prepare hand san- itizer or soap for all showings. Additionally, the outlet reports that buyers cannot touch anything while viewing a listing, hand shakes are forbidden, and masks are a must. n Please submit Pulse items to Darcey Gerstein at darcey@cooperator.com directory.cooperator.com Your one source for all the businesses and services essential to your co-op, condo or HOA THE COOPERATOR DIRECTORY OF BUILDING SERVICES Search by location: Search Now Search Enter Category or Company and Location Above Add Your Business Search By Category