Safety Protocols When Showing Your Home

  • Friday, September 6, 2024

I believe that Kadi Brown was fairly thorough with her list of safety protocols, but there were some steps that also merit inclusion:

If a home being shown has an alarm system, be sure that you enter ahead of the prospective buyers to disarm it, so they don't see the code being entered.

Make sure all doors that you found locked, both interior and exterior, are locked before leaving and if a visitor opens a window, be sure it is locked before you leave the room.

Finally, be 100 percent sure that you rearmed the alarm before leaving, especially if the home is vacant and the owners aren't just out during the showing. If you are having difficulty, get in touch with the listing agent. 

I mentioned these issues because we had to deal with several agents who couldn't follow these basic steps when we had our previous home for sale. I ended up having to drive to our old home after every showing, as I frequently found the alarm not set, had an unlocked back door blow open and set off an alarm, discovered an interior deadbolt unlocked numerous times, while I also saw a basement window left unlocked after a showing. 

One agent foolishly suggested that we leave the alarm off prior to a showing, which was a nonstarter since it would leave the home unguarded and possibly put our insurance coverage at risk. At that time there was no way for us to remotely activate and deactivate the alarm.

Leaving a listed home without properly securing it could not only have consequences for the homeowners, but may also put the next realtor showing it in danger. 

Ken Dryden

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