I just wanted to share this link with you. A British charity, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, have issued guidelines for ensuring your personal safety when selling a property. Having strangers walking around your home presents a certain amount of risk and the Trust have put together this guide to conducting viewings. Well worth a read if you plan to sell real estate, or already do. Hope this is of use to someone. http://www.suzylamplugh.org/personal-safety-tips/free-personal-safety-tips/selling-your-property//
I have often wondered about this very topic. I have only sold one house and all of our belongings were out of it. Generally though, you leave the house and then the potential buyers and agent will tour the house, and the agent does not always stay with the buyers as they are touring. I would invest in a safe or make sure that my most valuable items were out of the house before people started touring it. You just never know.
I believe this also works for landlords and landladies too when renting out...quite informative article...i have bookmarked the page for future reference...there is a reason i got myself professional real estate agents...thank God for that idea
I read a story about a real estate agent who was attacked by the person she was showing the house which he was interested in buying. http://www.suzylamplugh.org/personal-safety-tips/free-personal-safety-tips/selling-your-property/ It can happen to anyone if they are alone. I suppose that's why it's always advisable to let a real estate agent handle the sale for you. The real estate agent will "take care" of everything though it appears from the article linked to above, no one is 100% safe.
The Trust who published this article was set up in memory of a female estate agent who was abducted whilst conducting a house viewing almost 30 years ago. She was never found, dead or alive. Her family have since dedicated themselves to personal safety awareness. It's terrible to think that a female professional would be at risk in an everyday working situation.
I've never really thought of this. Showing a house is supposed to be normal and safe. That article is great with excellent tips but maybe it's best to just let the estate agent do it.
Wow, that is shocking and very saddening to hear. I've never thought about the safety aspect of it, but it's absolutely true that you're basically trusting a bunch of strangers to walk around in a home, sometimes alone. I've only ever been on the buyer's end of the deal and back then, it was all about seeing if the SELLER was trying to cheat me. Very sobering post.
She may have had a stalker who prey on her to find out where she was before doing his sick deed. It is easy to become a victim these days. You got to be extra careful when dealing with people in any situation. If you know something is not right then do not hesitate in calling the cops.
To answer the original question, I think there is a need to have a specific guideline when it comes to walking through a home because it's about the potential damage that can be done to the home. Anyone whom decides to purchase a home should treat the space as if they would their own but I've personally shown homes to private purchasers and was a bit in awe as they seemed to operate with a sense of carelessness to other's pocession.
