Dear Abby and Open Houses

A client of mine, Danielle, sent me a Dear Abby column this morning as a PSA.  I swear, no offense to Abby but she’s not exactly in my daily reading list!

The point is important, however:

If your property has a “For Sale” sign in front and someone comes to the door, that person should be instructed to phone your agent for an appointment. And by the way, for their own safety, many agents now have a second person on hand so they’re not alone in a house with strangers.

I’ve had this happen.  Clients have told me, “oh, this person stopped by while we were out in the yard and so we showed them the house. We gave them your card!”  Never-ever-ever-ever let a buyer into your house without making sure that (1) they’re accompanied by an agent, and (2) they’re accompanied by an agent.  That’s why we put the lockboxes out – it allows us to track who’s entering and exiting your home by giving us a real-time record, and it assures that only an agent in good standing (with a valid lockbox key) can access the key.  It seems ridiculous to write this, but personal safety should never trump selling your home.

Looking for a home, and want to see crime statistics?  See this post, and this one.

Sorry, Abby.  Not quite good enough to make it on to my RSS feed, but good column nonetheless!

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