When you are ready to sell your home in Scottsdale or the greater Phoenix area, call The Matheson Team! We have the experience to guide you through the sales process and help you obtain the best possible price for your luxury home, condominium, golf course property, vacation home, townhouse or single family residence in Scottsdale and the surrounding area. As full-service agents, we have many years of experience listing homes in Scottsdale and the Phoenix Arizona area, and have developed these Security Tips For Home Sellers to help you have the best experience possible.
- The most important step you can take to increase your family’s safety when selling your home is to use the services of a seller’s agent!
- You want the maximum number of potential buyers to view your home, and you want to be assured that only authorized persons are inside your home while you are not there. Your agent will install one of the electronic lockboxes that require an agent showing your home to have an electronic key combined with a secret Personal Identification Number (PIN). All attempts to open the lockbox are logged on a website that your agent will access to keep tabs on who has been in your home.
Your agent will also call the agents showing your home to find out what their clients thought of the home. This feedback enables you and your agent to decide if a change in your marketing plan is necessary. - Never leave a message on your answering machine letting callers know you are not at home-this common sense precaution should be followed even when you are not selling your home!
- Never discuss your personal schedule or the schedules of your family members with potential buyers. Letting them know when you leave for work might be considered an invitation for those posing as buyers to gain access to unoccupied homes.
- Security system information should not be divulged to a potential buyer. If you do have an alarm, most systems will let you set a new code (usually called a housekeepers code) to let someone come in but not have control over the master system functions. When you are listing your home, set up one of these limited codes so that the “housekeepers” code will be listed in the Realtor’s Remarks section of the listing instead of your master system code.
- When you are making your home available for showings, remember to pack up any valuables that you do not want displayed to a stranger. Small items of value (sterling silver tableware, jewelry items, or guns for example) should be carefully packed and placed out of the way. Do NOT pack these items in a suitcase or other very portable container. Larger items like crystal, furs, and art objects should be packed in appropriate storage containers and placed in a secure location or at the home of a trusted friend or relative.
- Make sure to remove prescription drugs from easy-to-access places like the bathroom medicine cabinet. Sometimes people gain access to a home during a showing just to obtain prescription drugs like Viagra, sedatives, sleeping aids or diet pills.
- NEVER leave your children home alone when you are in the process of selling your home. Most children are not mature enough to accept an appointment by phone or will not answer the phone when their parents are out. Imagine everyone’s surprise if a realtor uses the lockbox at a home where no one has answered the phone, and he finds children there without an adult! A good realtor will not show a home when unattended children are there but why take the risk?Ask your realtor about lockbox settings to make sure your home cannot be accessed when the children will be home without adult supervision.
- Tell your children that if an unknown car is in the driveway when they come home from school and they know you are not home, to go to a neighbor’s house until the car is gone. You do not want your children walking into a situation where strangers are in the home, even if they are qualified and serious potential buyers.
- Make sure your pets are not at home during a showing appointment. If that is not possible, you should confine your pets to one room or area. Put a sign on the door to that area so your pets are not inadvertently let out by people viewing your home.
- After any showing of your property, make sure that back doors or windows have not been left unlocked. Sometimes criminals, posing as buyers, will case a home during the showing and unlock a door or window for easy access when they return later.
- NEVER allow anyone inside to look at your home if they do not have an appointment – this means agents as well as potential buyers. Sometimes potential buyers will see the For Sale sign in front of your home and will knock on your door. Some can be aggressive, promising they can “pay cash” for your home. Ask them to call your agent if they really would like to see your home. DO NOT let thsem in to use your phone.
- If a realtor makes an appointment to view your home, they should give you their name, office and phone number. You can verify this information before the appointment, and if you are uncomfortable, you can cancel the appointment if necessary. A realtor should make an appointment any time he/she wants to enter your home. Just because they have been through your home once does not mean they can “come over anytime” to see it again.
Posted in: Sellers
