June 3, 2020

On March 181, 2020 Governor Baker announced the first phase of a comprehensive 4 phase plan for reopening Massachusetts detailing reopening plans for brick-and-mortar workplaces. 

• What this means for real estate:
  • Because Massachusetts designated real estate as an essential service, which allowed physical offices to open, phase 1 of the reopening plan will change very little for Realtors®. Offices that are open or planning to reopen must abide by certain protocols in order to do so in compliance with the reopening plan. Our offices at Focus Real Estate have been open for our agents use during this time following established safety protocols. We are not generally open for "walk-in" traffic but happy to meet with any customer who needs our service via videoconference or scheduled meeting.
• Open houses and showings:
  • Phase 1 of the reopening plan maintains the social distancing requirements that have been in place throughout the state of emergency. This means that open houses and showings may continue but they must follow all social distancing guidelines. Contact should be minimized, parties should stay six feet away from each other, hands should be washed frequently, and surfaces should be wiped down and sanitized. Additionally, gatherings are still limited to no more than ten people. At Focus Real Estate during this phase we are not conducting "public" open houses, but rather an adapted "open house" with advertised times/days in which parties can view our listings by appointment only. We are limiting the number of people who will be entering each property and requiring social distancing and the use of masks and gloves.
• Short-term rentals:
  • Short-term rentals are currently slated to be included in the second phase and are likely to reopen with restrictions and capacity limitations. Until that time, they continue to be subject to the restrictions previously put in place by the Governor’s office. Though there is no strict timeline yet, if phase 1 goes well, phase 2 could begin as soon as June 8.

April 1, 2020

On March 31, 2020 Governor Baker of Massachusetts declared that real estate is an essential business in the Commonwealth. Please see the link below for all essential businesses in Massachusetts. Focus Real Estate will continue to operate with the safety of our clients, community, and team as our number one priority as outlined below in previous statements.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through these difficult times together. 

Be well,

Your team at Focus Real Estate

March 31, 2020

To Our friends, Clients and Colleagues:

First and foremost, we wish to send you our love and support. It has been an unprecedented past few weeks as our world faces historic challenges with the growing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. 

Secondly, we would like to thank all of the healthcare professionals and first responders who are putting their health and security at risk to make sure that we are all taken care of and there for us if we should need any care. We can’t express enough how grateful we are for your service.

With that in mind, there are many professionals that are still working that our Federal, State and Local governments have deemed essential services. On March 28, 2020, the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY issued a memorandum stating real estate professionals (e.g. agents, mortgage officers, et al.) as essential services during this current hardship. We are following the lead of our Commonwealth of Massachusetts (updated March 23, 2020) and local authorities which have NOT included real estate as essential.  We at FOCUS Real Estate recognize the seriousness of this announcement and will conduct ourselves accordingly.

To our clients, please know that we will continue to serve your every real estate need, according to all social distancing best practices laid out by CDC, and will do everything we can to offer our knowledge and support. 

Over the past weeks, we’ve received a number of calls and emails inquiring about how we are conducting business during this time.

For buyers:

• Utilizing technology to meet and virtually tour homes.

• Continue to monitor opportunities in the marketplace.

• Communicating via phone/email/text and videoconferencing.

• Conduct showing in person using safe practices of social distancing and appropriate cautionary measures. 

For sellers:

• Utilizing technology to offer virtual tours of homes and keep a presence with quality, professional photography, videos and 3-D tours.

• For properties that can be shown, conducting virtual open houses via Zoom & Google Hangouts. 

• Communicating via phone/email/text and videoconferencing.

• Work directly with clients to ensure we are managing their safety and limit exposure. 

If you have questions about buying or selling real estate, we would be delighted to schedule a virtual consultation to discuss the options. You need only reply to this email to coordinate.

We will continue to monitor and adhere to guidelines set forth by our local, state and national governments, as well as leading real estate industry authorities. We have included the resources we are relying upon to help us through this crisis on our website focusre.com. 

We are here to assist you in every way possible and are committed to providing you with the utmost service and guidance moving forward.

For more information and access to links to the National & State guidelines as well as information from the CDC, please visit our website.

On behalf of the FOCUS Real Estate we send our love, prayers and best wishes for the health of you and your loved ones. We will get through this, together.

Sincerely,

Your team at Focus Real Estate

FOCUS Real Estate

March 26, 2020

Dear Friends, family and neighbors:

With the challenges we are all faced with in this time of COVID-19, now more than ever we all recognize the importance of having a safe and comfortable home for you and your family. We at Focus Real Estate want to continue to support everyone in our community as best as we can during these challenging times.

We want to update you on what is happening in the real estate and housing world as of this date. The situation remains fluid and all of us here at Focus Real Estate are committed to remaining informed and using all of our resources and technology to assist our clients in current transactions and all you with your housing needs and questions.

Essential Services And Revised Gatherings Order

On March 23rd, Governor Baker issued a ‘Stay at Home’ Advisory and closure of doors of all non-essential businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In these orders the Governor did not issue a mandatory “Shelter in place” order prohibiting residents from going out but did recommend residents stay at home and limitations on gatherings of more than 10  people. He also ordered the temporary closing of all businesses and organizations that do not provide COVID-19 Essential Services to close their workplaces and facilities until noon on April 7th. 

Real Estate services were NOT one of the services identified as an “essential service” in which allowed to continue to operate with their office’s open.

To see a copy of the Governor’s Order click on the link below:

City of Boston policy on Real Estate Showings and Open Houses

On March 20th, Mayor Walsh issued a directive asking all property owners, rental brokers, and realtors to adjust their practices regarding property showings. In that directive he specifically asked:

• Brokers should use photos, videos and written descriptions to showcase properties whenever possible.

• Rental brokers should not show clients occupied properties. If it is absolutely necessary, he asked for as much notice as possible to tenants.

• No open houses be conducted in the City of Boston until further notice

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  • He asked that “individual showings for properties minimize contact with others, and all involved should wash their hands often, use hand sanitizer and wipe down any surfaces touched. Any prospective tenant [renter or buyer] who is ill must not be allowed to view a unit in person”.

We at Focus Real Estate are following all of our state and local community orders above yet committed to continue to provide services to our clients and the community using some of the most advanced tools of modern communications, technology and marketing. Although our “doors” aren’t open at our office space, we are open to help you with any questions or real estate needs that you have in order to make sure all of you have the safe home that you need for you and your families.

CDC Guidelines on Prevention of the Coronavirus  link to the CDC

Department of Homeland Security Guidance on Essential Services: link to the DOHS

COVID19 RESOURCES:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identifi...

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Coronavirus: A Guide for REALTORS link to

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) – Prevention & Treatment

The best way to prevent COVID-19 infection is to avoid exposure to this virus and use heal...

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If you have anything else you would like to share, please email us at [email protected] 

Be well