How To Protect Property During An Open House

Would you allow total strangers to wander through your home while you’re not there? Or put up a sign in the front yard or post on the Internet saying, “We won’t be home from 1 to 3 p.m., so come on in and hang out at our house — and while you are here, make sure to look in our closets!”

You probably would answer no, but that’s exactly what happens at an open house.

Now that your home is ready to sell, opening it to the public for showings poses a few risks. While the idea of theft shouldn’t be your main worry come open house day, you don’t want to tempt people either. Most people aren’t touring the house in hopes of walking off with your family jewels, but I certainly wouldn’t want to leave any enticements. Let’s just say people are naturally curious, and I have seen it with my own eyes. It’s a fact: Buyers open all closets, cabinets, and drawers of furniture pieces while they are touring a home.

Reduce the chance that you’ll return home to one or two fewer of your precious belongings by thinking about the target spots: medicine cabinets, jewelry boxes, and rooms filled with little gadgets someone can easily snatch. Scan your house room by room and consider removing anything you don’t want an opportunistic stranger to grab. This includes locking up prescriptions, notes with valuable or personal information, paperwork, checkbooks, and jewelry.

Also, don’t overlook potential opportunities for identity theft.

Read more at forbes.com

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