Safety Tips for Home Sellers

If you are trying to sell your property, there are some safety guidelines you should follow to keep yourself and others safe.  The fact is you are leaving your home exposed to a parade of strangers.  Potential buyers want to see your entire home, even inside closets and kitchen cupboards.  While the vast majority of homebuyers are safe, honest people, precautions are necessary for the rare possibility that just one could see your home as an opportunity for crime.  Here are some security measures to take before you allow would-be buyers in the door:

• Remember to remove keys, credit cards, jewelry and other valuables from the home or lock them away.  Also remove prescription medications from medicine cabinets and bedside tables.
• Firearms, knives (including blocks in the kitchen) and other weapons need to be removed from sight and locked away.
• Bills, invoices, credit card statements, and anything with your social security number or other identifying information should be removed from view.  Family photos and anything labeled with names should also be removed.
• Never discuss your personal schedule or habits with potential buyers.
• Request that all visitors sign in a guestbook or roster and enter and leave through one door only, except when you escort them to the backyard, garage, etc. You should personally have quick and easy access to all your exits.
• Without hovering, escort prospective buyers through your home by following them (never leading them) and keeping them within sight at all times.  Keep a reasonable distance between you and your visitor. Never enter a room with a visitor. You could be trapped inside.  Keep your path clear for a speedy exit.
• After an open house, check all the windows, doors and other entrances to make sure they are locked.