You can never be too careful, especially when inviting strangers into the safety of your home!
Photos by: Stock Images
Showing your home is an essential but risky step in selling your home. There are many ways in which you can expose the vulnerable parts of your home to burglars and risk attack. By identifying these vulnerabilities and keeping them at bay, you can protect your home while showing potential buyers their new home. Here are some ways you can keep yourself and your home safe while showing off to buyers:
Please make prior appointments
You can easily keep track of the people who come in when they first book an appointment. This will give you enough time to prepare your home for a demonstration. Keeping to a pre-planned schedule is extremely helpful when you need to set up the rooms and hide valuable items. When making appointments, your real estate agent can also verify the credentials of the person coming to the exhibit, adding an extra layer of protection even before someone even walks into your home.
Ask for ID without hesitation
If someone has already booked an appointment, they will be prepared with their ID during the performance. Before entering your apartment, ask for some form of ID so you can make it clear that it is the right person at your door and not a scammer. If someone refuses to have or show you ID, don't let them inside and just ask them to leave or come back with ID. It is always better to be on the safe side. If you feel you are driving potential buyers away in this way, try notifying each buyer beforehand when they make the appointment. Also, be sure to tell yourself that you are protecting yourself, your family, and your home from someone whose intentions you do not know.
Get a good safe
You can be careful showing your home, but there is one need to be aware of. Installing a high quality secure safe in your home is important at all times, and not just when you show it to someone. While there are several Home safe manufacturer Few on the market offer complete security for your belongings through high quality manufacturing.
Remove expensive things from direct view
When showing your home to families or buyers, you are presenting the home as an inhabited space, but taking care of your belongings should be your number one priority. If you have some heirlooms or expensive items on display, be sure to remove them. The showpieces may be used for display, but they can attract intruders. If you have items with personal information, keep them hidden in the drawers. If you're skeptical about giving them to a friend, you can secretly turn them into one Book safe.
Potential weapons should be hidden
Aside from expensive items and personal information, some other things are best hidden away. This includes anything that can potentially be used as a weapon against you. In a kitchen facility, for example, showing off your knife set might sound like a good idea, but an opportunistic burglar could use it to threaten you. Furnish your home nicely But also think about the possibility of protecting yourself.
Don't do it alone
It's always a good idea to have someone with you when you show your house. Even if you show it to one person, at least two people must watch over everything. If you are a sole proprietor, ask the real estate agent to accompany each buyer during the presentation. It helps to keep your belongings safe during the demonstration. Additionally, you make yourself more vulnerable to attack when you're alone, so you'll always have someone by your side when showing your home for sale.
Pay attention to the number of people who come together
Particular care must be taken when showing the house to multiple families together. Security measures need to be enforced even more strictly when it comes to an open house. Even if it's an open house, limit the upper limit of people who can enter at the same time.
This is a good guideline, especially if only you and your agent are monitoring the potential buyers. Remember to get identification before letting anyone enter the premises. Choose an entry and exit point to further control the flow of traffic.
Protect your passwords
This seems too obvious at first glance. But when we're comfortable in a palace, we tend to be careless, especially when it comes to protecting our codes and passwords from people around us. It will do you good to be guarded and not to enter codes when someone is looking over your shoulder.
Even if your agent asks for keys to your house or garage, or security codes, think twice before agreeing. If you are not around and have not installed a security system for your home, it is best to keep the passwords, codes and keys to yourself.
Open house should have rules
Opening your home to a crowd makes it more prone to petty theft and security threats. You can enforce rules to keep traffic to a minimum by letting a certain number of people in the house at a time. Leave a time limit to explore, then offer new shoppers to keep the crowd going. A person can stand guard at the doors to control traffic and check IDs.
Take that away
You can certainly minimize the security threats that you leave yourself vulnerable to while staying vigilant. It just takes foresight and awareness of security gaps. Keep your valuable possessions in safes and your passwords private. Don't forget to ask for ID if you find yourself questioning a person's intentions.
