5 Tips to Keep Your Open House Safe
When your Grand Rapids real estate agent schedules an open house for your home, it can be a convenient opportunity to have your home seen by a variety of potential buyers, all at once. Some of the visitors may be known to your agent or to you. But an open house may expose your home to a large number of unfamiliar people as well.
Last year, the Grand Rapids area experienced a rash thefts involving prescription medications at open houses. The last thing you want is to have your feeling of personal safety and security shattered by a theft, no matter how small. Luckily, it doesn’t take much to discourage petty thieves. You can also take a few measures to make sure that your home, valuables, and family are protected during your open house:
- Before your open house, remove your valuables, including jewelry, artwork, coins, electronic equipment, and firearms . You're going to be packing them when you move anyway, so you might as well put them away for safekeeping.
- Make sure you don’t leave money, mail, bank statements, credit cards , or keys lying around, even in a drawer.
- Protect your family as well by removing pictures of children and hiding your family calendar .
- Stow away wine and liquor as well.
- Lock up your prescription drugs too. Last year thieves in Grand Rapids targeted Vicodin and Ambien. However, according to the DEA, prescription drug users sometimes target painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, ADHD drugs, Xanax, and Valium too.
Depending on your home and your comfort level, you can tailor this list and use it as a checklist – not just for your open house, but every time there is a showing. You can either lock the items up, take them with you, or store them off site.
At The Sprich Group, we are also happy to meet with the homeowner after the open house to walk through the house together, making sure everything looks right and that all windows and doors are still locked as they were before the open house. Contact us for more tips about selling your home, or download our free Home Seller’s Guide.
Photo: One Way Stock ( some rights reserved )
