Increasing the Home Security when Selling your Home
When selling your home, there is often a concern that your home
could be vandalized or burgled. There is no getting around the fact that there are
some questionable characters that make a living of posing as buyers specifically in
order to gain access to homes and target them. Keeping mind a few strategies can
help to reduce the risk of your home becoming one of those targets.
One of the most important things you can do to protect your home is
to make sure you use a professional real estate agent when selling your home. Using
a realtor ensures that any prospective buyers will need to first go through the
agent. The agent will then be able to inquire about the buyer's identity as well as
their motives for wanting to view your home. Realtors are often cautious when
showing homes because they are aware they can be targets for violence and theft. As
a result, realtors often obtain copies of buyer's driver's licenses and may often
even take a second agent with them when showing a home for additional security. This
can also provide your home with more security and ensure that anyone touring the
home will know someone is watching over the property.
Ask your real estate agent about placing a lockbox on your home's
door. This will provide convenient access to real estate agents when they need to
show your home to prospective buyers, while also maintaining an additional layer of
home security.
If you are going to move out of your home before it actually sells,
consider putting your lights on a timer so that the home will have the appearance of
still being occupied. This will help your home to look as though someone still
actually lives there. Homes for sale that are unoccupied naturally become a primary
target for thieves. You might also consider installing motion detector floodlights
on the exterior of your home to discourage would-be thieves as well. Drive-way
lights are also available for use with motion detectors and timers.
Never allow strangers into your home at the last minute. If someone
is really serious about buying your home they will write down the contactor
information for your real estate agent and go through the proper channels. Anyone
who tries to convince you to let them into your home at a moment's notice is
probably not really interested in buying and may have more sinister motives. If this
is the case, let them know they should contact your real estate agent. If you have
children, always caution them against allowing anyone in the home who claims they
want to see it.
When it comes to photos of your homes, carefully review each one and
remove any photos that could provide incentives for someone to want to burglarize
it. For instance, do you have photos that clearly show a lot of expensive
electronics equipment? You should also avoid using any photos that reveal family
heirlooms or any other items that could be valuable. This will help to make your
home less of a valuable target for thieves and discourage anyone that might consider
breaking in.
All valuables, such as passports, wallets, money containers, money
and jewelry should always be locked safely away in a safe or at least somewhere that
would be difficult for a thief to easily find. Avoid any popular hiding places like
the freezer or the toilet tank. A small safe can be an inexpensive investment that
can help to keep you and your valuables safe. While most buyers do not have bad
intentions, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
At the same time, if you have breakable objects that are valuable to
you, either financially or sentimentally, it is a good idea to put them away. It is
not unusual for buyers to bring their children with them and accidents do happen.
You do not want to run the risk that something which is valuable to you becomes
accidentally broken. This is also a good way to get a head start on your packing,
which can help to save time once your home does sell and you are ready to move.
Home security is really just a matter of maintaining some
common sense. Securing your valuables, ensuring your home is supervised and avoiding
publicizing anything that might make your home a valuable target can help to keep
your home more secure while you are trying to sell it.
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