Selling your home isn’t easy. Getting your home ready, staging it, finding a realtor… the “To Do” list seems to go on and on! Although you have a lot to worry about, the payoff at the end is well worth it. One major consideration, however, when it comes time to sell your home is how you’re going to protect your valuables and keep your family and property safe.
Unfortunately, some people use the opportunity of an open house to scout out homes for valuable items, or to plan future break-ins. During a time where it is inevitable to have an influx of people coming through your home, here are the best ways to keep yourself (and your stuff!) safe:
- Install a security system
You don’t need the security system of Fort Knox to keep you and your family protected. There are plenty of affordable options for security systems when you are trying to sell your home.
There are few people that wouldn’t benefit from having a security system installed in their home, regardless of where you live. Especially when you consider that selling your home means having a bunch of people coming through your home and looking around, installing a security system can give you some extra peace of mind.
An added bonus? Home buyers like to see that you’ve already installed a security system, so it will add to the resale value of your home.
- Never leave valuables visible
Although you want to stage your home in a way that makes it appealing to home buyers, never leave anything valuable in plain sight. This may be a good time to invest in a storage facility, safety deposit box, or even a safe to hold your jewelry and other valuables. Even though you want your home to look great during this time, you don’t want to highlight anything valuable that might attract unwanted attention.
Remove all family pictures when staging your home, as well. While pictures can be distracting to a buyer who’s trying to imagine the home as “theirs”, you also don’t want people to know what your children look like – and, potentially, become targets.
- Check the doors and windows after every showing
One trick that intruders use is to unlock back doors or windows so they can return later and steal things. So, after every single showing, double-check that all of your windows and side doors have not been unlocked. If for some reason, something has been disturbed, alert your realtor ASAP. Ask them if there is any reason, they might have opened a window, and let them know to be cautious about the people that were in your home.
- Check the references on your realtor
You should always check into your realtor before you hire them to make sure that there hasn’t been any kind of previous incident. You also want to make sure that your realtor does their homework on the people that they are bringing into your home. Your realtor should prequalify anyone that they give a private tour to. After all, safety first!
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