When you are selling a home, it is important to always keep safety in mind. Here are 9 safety tips for Thunder Bay Sellers that I highly recommend adapting when you have a home listed for sale.
- After viewings, ensure that your home is properly secured- do a quick check of all patio doors, windows, back doors, garage, etc. Realtors will always do a check before locking up, but it is not impossible that something is missed. Even if you are bringing potential buyers through your home yourself, get in the habit of doing a recheck after each showing. You would be surprised at how easy it is to miss locking back up something as simple as a window that you may not even have noticed being unlocked.
- Remove all medications from the medicine cabinet, countertops, night tables etc, and stow them in a safe and secure location. I always accompany potential buyers throughout your home during a viewing, but Open Houses can be a bit tricky to manage, and sometimes people go to Open Houses or view homes under the pretence of being Buyers when in all actuality they are casing your home for prescription medications and valuables, and also are assessing how easy your home will be to break into at a later date.
- Similarly, I would recommend removing valuables and money from your home or at the least, having them locked securely in a safe.
- Protect your identity. Never, ever, leave identification, passports, credit card bills or any other type of statements with your information on it lying around. Similarly, tuck away personal photographs and memorabilia- homes show better with a neutral tone anyways, as Buyers can envision themselves living in your space.
- If you are showing your own home, follow potential Buyers through your house- as in, follow, behind them. Don’t allow yourself to become trapped, and always know the quickest route out of your house. Carry your cell phone along during viewings, and I would never recommend going into a dug out or other such confined space with potential Buyers. Consider jotting down vehicle descriptions as they arrive.
- Consider having a sign in sheet asking potential Buyers for their name, phone number, drivers license etc. Serious Buyers will not be turned off.
- If you have your home listed with a Brokerage, never ever allow someone into your home that knocks on your door or contacts you directly for a viewing. Even someone with a professional demeanour can be looking to do you harm. Looks can be very deceiving. It is best to let your Realtor handle all inquiries.
- Assess any potential vulnerabilities to your homes security prior to putting a For Sale sign up, and address them.
- Always trust your gut. If something seems wrong, it likely is.
Following these safety tips may seem excessive or silly at first read, but selling a home can be very risky and it is always best to err on the side of safety than not.
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