Showing your home to strangers

One dangerous disadvantage of selling your home "By Owner" is that from the time you advertise the property, you are inviting unaccompanied strangers to your home. It is somewhat like moving hazardous chemicals around; you have to be careful.  An experienced Realtor knows to pre-qualify a person that they will be showing your home to.  That does not only mean ascertaining their ability to purchase; it should also mean taking precautions to the honesty of their intentions; they do this for your family's protection as well as their own safety.  By recording personal and contact information on that individual before they visit your home, the risks can be reduced.

What can you do on your own? 

• Obtain full name, home, cellular and work telephone numbers for the prospective buyer. Check out each one of those numbers.
• Have a brief conversation with the subject to explain that you are taking these and other precautions with all prospective purchasers visiting your home, and that you are doing this for the security of your family.
• Take these precautions with all prospects, regardless of gender, perceived ethnicity, or afability.  People who can sound very "nice" over the phone can turn out not to be.
• Develop a system for sharing your prospective visitors' list with family, friends or business associates.  We provide a free service for you to record this information with us.
• When the prospect arrives, call a relative or friend to announce their arrival, and have them call you back in 30 minutes to verify that the visit was concluded without incident.   Let the prospect know what is going on.