COVID-19 Resources

Home / COVID-19 Resources

Hawai’i Island REALTORS® has suspended all in-person meetings, classes and events scheduled through April 30th in an effort to promote social distancing and reduce the impact of potential “community spread” on our island. The health and safety of our community is of utmost importance to us. We are committed to keeping our members informed with industry updates and resources regarding the impact of COVID-19 as it pertains to our business.

This page will continue to be updated with resources to keep you informed.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

RESOURCES FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
The National Association of REALTORS® has developed a Coronavirus topic page with resources and guidance for REALTORS® including:
Right Tools, Right Now: The Right Tools, Right Now initiative, makes new and existing NAR products and services available for FREE or at significant discounts – right now –
and is available to REALTORS® and REALTOR® Associations.


GOVERNMENT

STATE OF HAWAI’I EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
Third Supplementary Proclamation for COVID-19  Statewide Stay at Home/Work at Home Order

 “A. Work in essential businesses or operations Persons may travel to and from the following essential businesses and operations to the extent that such businesses or operations cannot be conducted through remote technology from homes or places of residence. …

…19. Professional services. Professional services, such as legal services, accounting services, insurance services, real estate services (including appraisal and title services);”

In other words, just because you are a REALTOR®, that in and of itself does not make you “essential” to conduct business as usual. REALTORS® do provide essential services and those services may allow you to conduct business outside of the home.  However, REALTORS® are required to provide care in the way they conduct those transactions to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Avoid unnecessary travel; conduct business virtually as much as possible.
HAWAI’I COUNTY

Effective Saturday, March 21, 2020, all County of Hawai‘i beach and shoreline parks, public shoreline access easements, public open space shoreline and coastal lands, undeveloped county shoreline and coastal lands are closed to all access and uses until further notice. View website

  • All camping, pavilion and use permits associated with these affected lands are also cancelled or suspended until further notice.
  • The County of Hawaii Department of Parks & Recreation, Recreation Division has postponed Summer Fun Registration island wide until further notice. We will keep everyone informed through the County of Hawai‘i website and media outlets when the registration is scheduled to begin.
  • Hilo Municipal Golf Course is closed as of April 1st for an indefinite period of time.  Should you have any questions, please contact the Hilo Municipal Golf Course starters office at 959-7711.

New Online Form to Request Appointments with County Departments
The County Departments/Divisions that are taking virtual appointment requests are:
1. Finance – Real Property Tax Division
2. Finance – Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division
3. Finance – All Other
4. Parks and Recreation
5. Planning Department
6. Public Works – Administration
7. Public Works – Building Division
8. Public Works – Engineering Division


FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE / CARES ACT

MORTGAGE AND PERSONAL FINANCE & COVID-19 FAQs
Congress has passed three relief packages to respond to COVID-19. Bank regulators have also adopted many new policies in light of needs due to COVID-19. Click here to view those provisions and actions that are designed to address homebuying, homeowner/landlord, and personal finance issues.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

GO VIRTUAL/DIGITAL
Digital Photography Services
> Leveraging Digital Photography
> http://floorplanonline.com/
> https://www.zillow.com/marketing/3d-home/
> Google Tour Creator
> Matterport Capture/Matterport 3D Showcase (app) 

Video Conferencing Services
At present, NAR does not offer access to free video conferencing. NAR IT team recommends using Zoom, which has a free subscription option and allows for up to 100 participants but limits calls to 40 minutes. Zoom also offers a Zoom-Pro subscription for $14.99/mo that provides for unlimited meeting durations. The other subscription-required services NAR IT recommends are JoinMe and BlueJeans:
Zoom: https://zoom.us/pricing
JoinMe: https://www.join.me/pricing
BlueJeans: https://shop.bluejeans.com/1615/purl-cataloghome

Monday.com – monday.com is a work operating system that enables organizations (and teams) to build custom workflow apps in a code-free environment – to run projects, processes and everyday work. Track and manage your real estate deals!

(The resources below are credited to Kristian Hoysradt, Political Representative NAR)
Appraisal Alternatives: FHFA, Fannie & Freddie

Federal Housing Finance Agency FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow the use of appraisal alternatives to reduce the need for appraisers to conduct interior property inspections for eligible mortgages through May 17, 2020. This should alleviate recent concerns over transaction delays due to a lack of appraisers able or willing to enter properties to conduct interior inspections. Full Announcement Available Here

Fannie Mae Fannie Mae has issued temporary guidance on appraisal requirements, including allowing desktop and exterior-only appraisals on many mortgage transactions. This guidance includes links to modified certifications and instructions for both Desktop Appraisals and Appraisals with Exterior-only Inspections. Full Announcement Available Here.

Freddie Mac On March 23, 2020, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2020-5, Selling Guidance Related to COVID-19, which contains temporary guidance on appraisal requirements. Under the guidance, lenders will be allowed to use desktop appraisal and exterior only appraisals for purchase transactions through May 17, 2020. Freddie Mac has also provided language that the appraiser must copy and paste into their report in order to accommodate the revised scope of work, statement of assumptions and limiting conditions, and certifications for some of the scenarios presented. Full Announcement Available Here.

FHFA Moves to Provide Eviction Suspension Relief for Renters in Multifamily Properties
Today, to keep renters in multifamily properties in their home and to support multifamily property owners during the coronavirus national emergency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is announcing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will offer multifamily property owners mortgage forbearance with the condition that they suspend all evictions for renters unable to pay rent due to the impact of coronavirus. The eviction suspensions are in place for the entire duration of time that a property owner remains in forbearance. The forbearance is available to all multifamily properties with an Enterprise-backed performing multifamily mortgage negatively affected by the coronavirus national emergency.

The multifamily mortgage forbearance and eviction suspension programs are the latest actions that FHFA has announced to ensure the Enterprises fulfill their missions during the coronavirus national emergency. Other actions include: