{"id":5291,"date":"2022-08-12T06:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T11:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealdaily.com\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2022-08-12T00:14:28","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T05:14:28","slug":"client-realtor-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/real-estate-brokers\/client-realtor-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"The safety of Realtors is top of mind, but what about clients?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been lots of advice recently about Realtor safety<\/a>, but what about the home seller\u2019s safety?<\/p>\n

This area seems a little scant on advice, as a profession we probably owe more consideration to the sellers who pays for the food on our table. The appropriate moment to discuss safety with your new client is probably right after the listing is signed.<\/p>\n

There are the points you should be covering with your seller:<\/p>\n

Explain that you can’t protect valuables<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re planning on hosting an open house, remind them that you likely won\u2019t be following every prospective buyer around the house. Unless you are insisting on visitors signing in or checking IDs, you also won\u2019t know exactly who\u2019s walking through the house either.<\/p>\n

Unless you as the agent plan to be there for every showing, you\u2019ll need to explain that you can\u2019t protect their valuables.<\/p>\n

Remove pharmaceuticals for every tour<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jewelry, laptops, iPads, personal mail, and especially pharmaceuticals are prime targets for thieves if not put away properly. Encourage your seller to remove prescription drugs from the home prior to every showing, or properly dispose of expired prescription drugs.<\/p>\n

Mail may contain personal information and bank statements and are a risk from identity fraud. Explain that agents don\u2019t want to be confronting someone taking these types of items from a home.<\/p>\n

Put away knife blocks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ask the seller to put away any knife blocks before showing. These may be a safety issue for any showing agent in the home.<\/p>\n

With all those high-definition images of the home’s interior out there on every listing site, it\u2019s like a robber’s take-out menu.\u00a0 Suggest to your seller that they consider putting high-end stereos, flat-panel TVs, etc., in storage until they sell.<\/p>\n

Surprising tip: remove pics of kids<\/strong><\/p>\n

If your client has photos of their wife, teenage daughter or children displayed, tactfully suggest that this might not be appropriate, if say a pedophile or stalker walked through their home.<\/p>\n

\"seller<\/p>\n

Tell sellers to not offer tours on their own<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even without a sign outside a property, the fact that the address is on every website in town is an open invitation (or an excuse) for someone to knock on the door and ask the sellers to \u201ctake a peek\u201d inside. Explain that it\u2019s not a good idea to let them in and that they should simply state \u201cPlease call my agent with any questions or to make an appointment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Explain Craigslist scams<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the growing rental fraud scams (listings are scraped by scammers who post bogus rental listings on Craigslist and other sites) potential renters could possibly be showing up at their doorsteps too, ready to move in<\/p>\n

Check locks after tours<\/strong><\/p>\n

Discuss with them how to make their home burglarproof when it\u2019s on the market and the need to check that a prospect has not deliberately left a door or window unlocked, so they can gain easy access later.<\/p>\n

Recommend that if they don\u2019t plan on returning directly home after a showing, they should ask a trusted neighbor to pop in, to make sure your doors were locked and the windows are secured.<\/p>\n

Consider that there would actually be a whole lot less to worry about if we knew exactly who was looking at a home.<\/p>\n

How are we protecting sellers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So why are we letting any old Tom, Dick, or Harry look at homes in the first place? Why are we allowing unverified buyers into our seller\u2019s homes?<\/p>\n

Agents should consider counseling the seller to only allow verified prospects into their home.<\/p>\n

The Des Moines Area Association of Realtors has already come up with an innovative seller contract, that states that no real estate agent is allowed to show the home to anyone the agent has not previously met and identified.<\/p>\n

As a positive side effect, with this contract in place it allows agents to tell prospective buyers they have no choice but to first meet the agents in public because it is required by contract with the seller.<\/p>\n

The other upside to this is respecting the seller\u2019s time and effort in preparing for each showing.<\/p>\n

After all, sellers are expected to keep up with tidiness and be ready for the next showing. I\u2019m sure many sellers spend quite some time preparing for the next showing, then having to leave the house, sometimes with kids and animals in tow.<\/p>\n

The cheat sheet for your sellers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a shortened version of the suggested list of points you should discuss with a home seller:<\/p>\n