Crime Prevention aimed at specifically at home sellers. Invaluable information for keeping you and your family safe.

1. Don’t Be A Victim
Tips to Keeping You and Your Family Safe While Selling Your
Home

2. Work With a Trusted Certified Realtor
• Your real estate agent will have extensive access to your home and work
closely with you and your family for weeks or months. Be sure that the real
estate agent you're working with is one you can trust. Find a great agent by
asking for recommendations and reviews and checking to make sure they are
a certified Realtor.

3. Require Appointments for Showings
• Scammers and criminals often target home owners by simply showing up unannounced on
their doorstep asking for a showing. Burglars may pose as real estate agents and buyers who
are just in the neighborhood and want to see your home. They may even have a convincing
business card or sign on their car. Often, these visitors are not really interested in buying
your house. Rather, they simply want to gain access to your home. Showing up
unannounced makes you particularly vulnerable because you're not expecting it, your guard
may be down, and your agent isn't there to help you by prequalifying them and collecting
identifying information before they are able to view your home. Never open your door to
strangers. If a buyer or agent shows up unannounced, speak to them only through a closed
door and direct them to your agent to set up an appointment, no matter how insistent they
are.

4. Don’t Reveal When The House Will Be Empty
• Don't reveal when the house will be empty when setting appointments:
Never share that you'll be at work or elsewhere during a desired appointment
time. Instead, simply tell them you'll be busy or that the time is unavailable.

5. Screen Potential Buyers before Appointments
• Your agent should put every potential buyer through a prequalification
process before allowing them to set up an appointment to view your home.
At the very least, they should require photo ID, but many also require
prequalification letters and other documentation to show that the buyers are
genuine.

6. Allow Your Agent to Show Your House
• It is your agent's job to show your house. They are also experienced and
trained in personal and property safety measures while showing homes, so let
them put their expertise to work for your safety.

7. Only Work With Your Agent
• Criminals may call you and claim they are working with your agent. It's easy
enough to note the name of the real estate company on the sign outside your
house and claim that they are an agent in the same office helping out during
a busy season. Don't fall for it. Give your agent a call directly and verify this
information before allowing anyone into your home or giving out any
personal information.

8. Give Your Realtor Their Own Alarm Code
• Give your Realtor their own alarm code: Even if you trust your Realtor,
don't give them your main alarm code. Set up a separate one for their own
use that will track when they enter or exit the home.

9. Remove or Lock Up Sensitive Documents
• As you're staging your home, look for any sensitive documents, such as credit
card statements, social security cards, and vehicle titles. Lock them up in a
secure file cabinet, or better yet, completely remove them from your home.
Remember to look again before every showing, as new pieces of mail you've
collected may still reveal sensitive information that criminals can use to steal
your identity. If you don't already, be sure to empty your mailbox and sort
your mail right away.

10. Password Protect or Remove All Computers
and Devices
• Locking up important papers is one step, but with so many people using
online bill pay and storing other important personal information online and
on computers today, you can't neglect the safety of your devices, either. It's
all too easy for a criminal to distract your agent while a partner quickly opens
up your computer to gain access to sensitive information. Remove all
laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices before showings. Consider
removing personal computers during the staging process, or place a password
on each of them for a layer of protection.

11. Remove Prescription Medications From
Cabinets
• Prescription medications are easy for criminals to find and pocket quickly,
then sell for a profit -- possibly before you've even noticed they are gone.
Remove all prescription medications from your medicine cabinets, placing
them in a locked safe or simply taking them with you before every showing.

12. Remove Guns and Ammunition
• Guns are another hot commodity for thieves, and unsecured firearms in your home
are always a bad idea whether you're selling or not. A gun safe may keep your
firearms protected during a showing, but just having one may make your home a
target, as criminals will note their presence and may make plans to return for them
later when they can take time to work on your safe or simply carry it out of your
home. It's best to simply remove your guns and ammunition during the staging
process. If you don't feel comfortable without guns in your home, consider simply
keeping only those that you can take with you before every showing. Removing guns
from your home during the sales process doesn't just protect you from theft. It also
reduces your liability, avoiding a situation where a visitor (particularly a curious
child) accidentally discharges a gun in your home.

13. NEVER Leave Money or Credit Cards At
Home
• Never leave money or credit cards at home: You may be in a rush to get out
the door before a showing, but never forget to pick up cash, credit cards, and
checkbooks before you leave. Having these items lying around just makes it
too easy for criminals to steal.

14. Double Check Your Refrigerator
• Double check your refrigerator: Look on your fridge and remove any
calendars, doctor notes, unfilled prescriptions, and other personal
information that shouldn't be available to strangers.

15. Remove or Lock Up Valuables
• This should go without saying, but when staging your home, it's time to
remove your most valuable items from the home. Jewelry, family heirlooms,
china, and artwork that could easily go missing should be put in safe storage,
whether that's outside of your home or in a safe on site. Remember that even
large pieces that might not be swiped during a showing can still make you a
target, as thieves will note their presence and make plans to break in for them
later.

16. Remove All Family Photos
• Another important item to remove during staging is your collection of family
photos. It may feel strange to remove some of the most personal traces of your
family from your home, especially while you're still living there, but this protects
your family from prying eyes. Criminals may use photos to note the number of
children in your home, their ages, where they go to school, whether or not there is a
spouse in the picture, if that spouse travels often for work, and more. This can
make your home and your family a target. Most Realtors recommend removing
personal photos from homes during the staging process anyway, as this allows
potential buyers to better see themselves in your home.

17. Check Doors and Windows After Showings
• After every showing or open house, look at every door and window to make
sure they're still locked. Some burglars unlock a window or door while they're
inside identifying valuables, then return later to the spot where they know the
house is open and easy to access.

18. Check Other Vulnerabilities After Showings
• Check on valuables that are too big to remove during showings and other
items that may have gone amiss while strangers were in your home.

19. Keep Everyone Together
• Don't allow couples or even families to split up during showings. Burglars in
pairs or groups may have one distract the agent while the other steals items
or unlocks a window. Encourage your real estate agent to enforce this policy
and ask them to work with a partner during open houses both for your
home's security and their personal safety.

20. Use Security Cameras
• Security cameras are always a smart idea for home security, but are especially
helpful when you're selling your home. A security camera at the front door
allows you to keep a record of everyone who views your home. And indoor
security cameras in strategic locations can reveal criminals who may go
through and steal your things while they think your agent isn't looking.

21. Open All of The Window Coverings and Turn
On Lights During Showings
• Let your neighbors see inside the house while others walk around it,
illuminating every room. The people inside will be deterred from criminal
acts knowing that others can see what they're doing.

22. Use An Electronic Lock Box
• Electronic lock boxes will track who had access to your home. With tracking,
people will be less likely to consider taking advantage of your home, as you'll
probably know who was responsible.

23. Collect Information From Everyone Who
Attends An Open House
• Many real estate agents practice this as a matter of policy for every home,
but it's a good idea to ask just in case. Speak with your agent and require that
they use a sign in sheet during an open house. Be sure to request a driver's
license or other photo ID, as anyone can use a fake name to sign in. Some
agents also record license plate numbers as an extra precaution.

24. Make Security Part of Advertising
• Ward off potential burglars or scammers before they even get the idea to
target your home. Advertise showings as appointment only with preapproved
documentation and driver's license required. This sends a message loud and
clear that you're keeping track of who is allowed into your home.

25. Use Deterrent Signage
• Invest in a sign that says loud and clear you won't be a victim: Video
Surveillance in Use.

26. Never Reveal Personal Information
• Don't tell potential buyers when or where you work, whether you're married
or live alone, how many children live in the home, or even what you like to
do on the weekends. These details may reveal your schedule, which will make
it easier for burglars to know when you won't be home -- and when they
should break in.

27. Trust Your Instincts
• If you just don't get a good feeling from a potential buyer, visitor, or even an
agent, listen to your gut and don't allow them into your home.

28. “
”
The police are the public and the public are the police; the
police being only members of the public who are paid to give
full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every
citizen in the interest of community welfare and existence.
-Sir Robert Peel
Jim Saylor
Realtor
(269)425-5778 - saylor01@gmail.com