The process of selling your home can be quite overwhelming as sellers are asking questions about how to price their home and the cost of selling their home. Sellers however forget to prioritize the safety and security of their home during the selling process.
Selling your home poses many threats that would not occur under normal circumstances as homeowners have to allow strangers into their homes for viewing. This allows people to find opportunities for crime, as they can identity valuables and security faults that could be used later on. In order for homeowners to avoid crimes such as thefts and break-ins to occur while selling their home, they can consider the following security precautions.
1. Work with a realtor
Many home sellers firstly think about whether hiring a realtor is worth it or not and some ditch using one in order to save costs. Using a realtor throughout the selling process is advisable as they can offer advice to homeowners on the different ways they could protect their home and themselves during the process.
Realtors are able to screen buyers to ensure that they can cover the mortgage, and this ensures that the buyers are not only ready to buy the home, but that they can afford to as well. Home owners selling their homes independently may not be able to enquire about the financial ability to purchase their home and do the relevant checks to ensure that they are being honest.
You also should communicate with your realtor about viewings and make certain that there is one viewing at a time and discuss the time to bring viewers. It’s recommended to have viewings during the day.
2. Use your home security system
Having a home without an alarm system puts you at a higher risk of being targeted. If you don’t have one, this will be the perfect time to get it. Before allowing potential buyers into your home, ensure that the electric gate and fence work. The electric fence should be connected to the alarm system. Your doors and windows should be able to lock. Check to see if any of your door locks are damaged as this could make your home easy to break in to.
Ensure that your home security is fully functional and that there is a monitoring service that allows you to call the police in the event that the alarm is triggered. Provide all information about your security system such as a code to your realtor in the event that they need to disable the system.
3. Pack away valuables and collectibles
Putting away your valuables and collectibles provides more safety and security for you as it reduces the risk of theft occurring. Items that are valuable or expensive need to be stored away, preferably outside the home or in a safe where no one will be able to see them. It is advisable to do this before realtors come into your home as images of your home will be posted online where anyone can see them.
Packing away valuables such as electronics, tablets, wallets, the safe and jewelry help declutter your home making it more open and giving the sense that there are fewer things in the home. This discourages criminals from seeing opportunities to rob.
4. Appointments and viewings
All buyers who will view your home must have booked an appointment with your realtor beforehand. While you may be tempted to let them view your beautiful home, you could be inviting someone who might put you and your family in danger. Give buyers without an appointment your realtors number, as it’s their job to show buyers the home and represent you. Appointments should be made during appropriate times when there are multiple people in the house.
5. Depersonalize your home
Depersonalizing your home refers to removing anything that makes your home unique. Things you can remove include family pictures, trophies, your children’s artwork and more. The selling process exposes you to many different people, and some might have ulterior motives. Keeping personal family items might expose your family to people with malicious intent.
Another reason to depersonalize is that your unique items are a distraction to those who actually want to buy the home. They are unable to fully envision putting their own personal belongings in their new home.
6. Avoid open houses
Open houses might seem like the perfect opportunity to invite more buyers as most are packed. The truth is that many people who do show up are there for reasons other than buying the house such as for free food, to waste time or look for opportunities to rob the home when there are less people around.
Open houses are also a waste of time as realtors cannot screen the people who pitch to see if they can even afford the house in the first place. From a statistic point of view, 5-6% of sales happen through open houses, so they aren’t worth the risk. If a buyer is truly interested online, they will make an appointment with your realtor.
Conclusion
When selling a home, we tend to overlook safety and security. Work with professionals to ensure that there are no gaps that make you vulnerable to crime while considering the security precautions offered.
