August 3rd, 2012 at 7:07 pm
First, when holding an Open House, please consider taking someone with you. Especially for larger properties, it is impossible for one person to see everyone who enters your property and watch them as they go through the home. At a minimum, you should try to have one person near each exit to make sure no one is taking anything large. Additionally, you should try to accompany visitors as much as possible, walking through the house with them, or keep someone in the bedrooms and master bath where valuables (jewelry) and medications are most often kept.
Furthermore, even when showing the property to an individual buyer, you should try to take someone with you. People are less likely to enter the property illegally if there are multiple people present. Next, lock the door behind you when showing the property and, more importantly, when closing up after the potential buyers have left. While I understand that there is no way to protect against every eventuality, by locking the door when you are in the home alone, you make it harder for a burglar to get in and assault you and may cause them to go look for another target. Any amount of safety and protection is better than doing nothing. Of course, your safety is our first priority, so we want to make sure you think about it and take whatever reasonable steps are available to you.
So, try not to go to a home alone, either for a showing or to hold an Open House. And lock doors whenever possible, especially if you are in a property by yourself. Those things will minimize the chance that you ever encounter an intruder. Thanks
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