Safety Tips
Being Cautious While Showing Your Property
Allowing strangers into your home so that they may view your home can be overwhelming.
It does not have to be overwhelming if you follow a few simple cautionary rules. For showings to be comfortable for you and the buyer, you want to make the viewings simple while maintaining your safety.
Screening Potential Buyers Before You Show Your Property
Logically, you will want to screen every potential buyer during their initial phone call in which you will try to determine whether the caller is a legitimate potential buyer. After getting a name and phone number(s), you can describe your home, then ask the caller a few questions:
- Which part of town do you live in?
- Are you a homeowner now? Is your home for sale?
- When are you hoping to move?
If you think the caller is a legitimate buyer whom you feel comfortable showing your home, make an appointment . Before the appointment, call back to confirm it, just so you are assured that the caller honestly represented themselves with the phone number.
You should keep an organized log book of all the calls you receive about your property and obtain the following information:
- Names(s) of the potential buyer
- Phone number(s)
- Date and time that they called
- Appointment time and date
Secondly, a “visitors sign in book” for those who you show the property. They should list their name(s), phone number(s) and address. With this information, you may call back those potential buyers to see how their house search is going and determine if they will become serious buyers for your property.
Screening Realtors Before They Show Your Property
When a Realtor calls for property details and/or showing instructions, enter the following information into your organized log book:
- Realtor(s) name(s)
- Realtor(s) phone number(usually a cell number)
- Name of the realty company and main phone number
- Date and time that they called
- Appointment date and time
- A brief description of your conversation for later reference
Remove Valuables
Attempt to have another person with you when potential buyers visit.
Safeguard your valuables. As a smart seller, you know that in order to make potential buyers feel comfortable in the house and not pressured, you need to step back and let them walk through the house themselves. To be prudent, you should remove all important items (valuable or not). A bank security box, a relative or friend would be good choices to hold these items while you are selling your property. Do not just put them in a drawer, under the mattress or on a shelf. Remember that often potential buyers bring along children and children love to touch. Knick knacks should be hidden away or removed from your property.
It is always better to be cautious and make safety for you and your valuables a priority.
