Selling House, Security concerns -

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XLMiguel

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We are relocating from oocupied northern VA to New Mexico this summer and have put our house on the market. Understanding that we will have strangers going through the house, I have taken the following precautions:

- I have secured all my normally 'stashed' guns and related paraphenalia
- I have gathered all the prescription meds and put them well away (don't really have anything 'interesting', but the realtor warned that people will just grab 'em all hoping to get lucky -:scrutiny: )
- Jewelry, etc., stashed/secured
- I have put away small, expensive things that are easily pocketable (e'g' i-pod, flash drives, SureFires)

What else am I missing? I welcome any addition suggestions or advice. TIA.
 
Make some things conspicuous.

Like alarm boxes, window locks, etc. Also ask the realtor to mention to every client that you are still living there. Conspicuous security may deter the ones looking for an easy mark and know ing you are there may deter a few more.

Just my thoughts.
 
Open house days will be the most vulnurable time.

That's when there's one realtor passing out flyers at the front door, and multiple groups of people nosing through the house. When it's one-on-one showings, the realtor follows them around talking up the house, and there's litle opportunity to steal.
 
When I was younger and dumber, I tried peddling Real Estate and for several reasons left a business that I considered very unethical and often marginally crooked. One thing I do remember is that most of the agencies in my area considered open houses to be not cost effective, so they didn't waste time on them. Were it I, I would say NO to an open house
 
Pack everything small that can be easily pocketed, i.e. knick-knacks. People will take anything, regardless of value, just because they can. (Words of advice from our realtor when we moved.)

Also de-cluttering makes your house look bigger. When we were selling to move we moved about 1/5 of our furniture out to make it more spacious.
 
A friend in a similar situation got one of those "PODS" thingies where they deliver a storage container to your house, you fill it up. They can then store it until you tell them where to deliver it. You've got to pack at some point, why do it twice?
 
I know firsthand...

Mike,

I have a small house, and while my safe isn't in a main room, there's no hiding it. I secured the important tools, and did the best I could with ammo. I would suggest that you post a warning on your MLS listing & your house

'No entry without owner approval".

I had someone come by about 2 weeks ago who simply walked right into my house through the front door (opened from a contractor who had just left) and proclaimed to be here to show my house. I asked for ID or a card, he had none. I invited him to leave, he refused. I again invited him to leave, using my winning personality and gregarious nature and he eventually complied. You could also have your MLS listing 'by appointment only'.

Our MLS prominently warns of large dogs and that you must call ahead, and sadly some realtors just don't bother.

I don't know if this guy was a realtor or not, his not having any id he was willing to show me was enough for me...

HTH
 
Thanks for all the input, folks.

Agree with the general premise that open houses don't sell houses, but we're fresh on the mkt and need the exposure at the late end of the selling season. Last fall, things sold in a weekend or two, things are slower now -

- There is no showing without an appointment.
- Most of the small stuff is put away, more will be put away before the open house.
- Have demassed/decluttered via a POD and storage locker. We've been here 25 years, & are the operative example of crap expands to fill the space available . . . . :banghead: craigslist.org is a wonderful way to get rid of stuff
- Will be across the street at a neighbors for open house, will [discretly] photograph lic. plates of those who show up

Thanks again, M2
Next, any good gunshops in Santa Fe?
 
Yeah, but it's a pretty neat town, we like the climate, COL is better, driving is still fun there, wife has sister nearby. It is certainly analogous to someplace like Old Town Alexandria (and NOVA in general), but not quite a liberal hell hole and CA transplants are only sort of tolerated. I figure the rest of the state is certainly gun friendly, my VA CHP is recognized there, I know a couple of Albuquerque cops who can hook me up with training for a NM CHP, I'll get by. No place is perfect, and it's a real good ways fro DC & MD.

Besides, it's a small enough place that every right-thinking gun owner that moves in can help tilt the balance,eh? :evil:
 
TP, I guess I'll have to do a change of address card for THR, too, unless I get into CAS/SASS and come up with a cool handle . . . :D
 
Our house is on the market too. We will show only by appointment only. Our realtor strongly suggested that we turn away anyone who shows up without an appointment. Signs are on the door was well as warnings about our pets ( 2 cats, 2 greyhounds).

The only thing I could do in the event of a realtor bringing someone when we are not home is put a lock on the room where the toys are stored. This is a double-edged sword. 99% probably won't care or think anything about it. The last 1 % may see that locked room and think something of value must be in there and get even more curious. So I have to play by the odds. I will have to take my chances with those whom are curious about the locked room vs. everyone seeing where the safe and ammo cans are located.

Originally, our realtor did not recommend an open house. Since they are typically a waste of time. All they do is allow all your neighbors to see in side your house (her words). But with the market so slow now, she said she might consider it an option. We already informed her that one room would be locked and off limits. She did not ask why but said that was our choice.

Unfortunately, there is not much else you can do.
 
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To Smurfslayer. I am a Realtor. At least here in Illinois, if the guy didn't show you his pocket license card he was violating the law. Most states have similar laws. If caught without the card you face some serious fines and loss of license. I am guessing the guy was a free-lancer of some sort, or else just casing your place. By any standards you were right to toss him out. I would have called the cops.

We hear a lot of stories about types who make stealing from open houses etc a full time job. It sounds like the original poster is doing most of the right things. Clean out the drug cabinet, pack up all easily carryable items. Best thing is just to start packing up everything for the move as soon as you can.

We are advised to NOT follow people around the house, either for private showings or open houses. We are supposed to just open the front door and let people go free inside. Then, after they have left we go through the house again, check to make sure all the windows/doors are locked and nothing is obviously damaged or missing. Beyond that there isn't a lot we can do.

Even weirdos and crooks need a place to live, and anti-discrimination laws make it very hard for us to deny anyone equal treatment. There are people whose hobby is to try to catch realtors who discriminate, as well as the feds who send out ringers to watch us. Essentially, we can't say "no" to anyone and hope to keep our jobs very long. Which means we can't do much to protect home sellers either.

Definitely set things up with your realtor to only allow showings after you and he have been notified and agree. If anyone shows up without an appointment, don't open the door, do call their office and complain, and if they refuse to show id/license, do call the cops.

I am told that this is a particularly bad problem in Chicago, with people just popping in at all hours unannounced, letting themselves in with their key. I would really love to see these guys losing their licenses and having to find new jobs!
 
Dont forget to watch out for the wierdos that want the thrill of "getting it on" in houses other than their own. Typically it'll be a group of three, one distracts the realtor while the other two ruffle the (your) bedsheets. But I've heard thats mainly a West-coast thing. :scrutiny:

Kharn
 
Guys, a "POD" or a storage locker will work wonders. Move everything you don't want people to see or steal.


Also, the market isn't _that_ slow. It's just slower than a big freakin' boom. Sheesh - people either want a fire hose, or a drop - it's like they can't see anything in between.
 
Thanks Tom Bri, et al, for the continued input. We've pretty much made the decision to just go ahead and move. If I'm paying two mortgages, might as well be getting the new house under control, and not be dealing with the inconvenience of having to keep the house neat all the time and the realtors who show up on short notice (i.e. those who call from the driveway), or those who call and then don't show up at all.:banghead: None are supposed to show up unannounced (i.e. showing by appt only), so far none have.

Did one open house, was a waste of time (more neighbors than prospects showed up), so no more.

Things are moving. Houses recently under contract in our area/price range have sold in as little as 8 days, longest was 44. We're walking distance to Metro, inside the Beltway, in great school districts. It'll sell.

It's just that sell your house is a disruptive exercise. I don't like strangers in the house on general principle, and as a gun owner, I feel I need to take 'security' that much more seriously. Thanks, again, for your thoughts.
 
woohoo!

Proving once again that the more I know about real estate, the more I find that I am actually clueless... I secured a contract to buy my current house, and settle on the new one before June is outta heah. No more "Hey, can I look at chore casa, mano?"

I feel bad for the movers... I've got a lot of ammo...
 
Smurfie, I hate to rain on your parade, but most movers won't touch ammo (if'n they know what it is . . . :evil: ), probably oughta plan on moving it yourself. I've gotten bids from 4 movers, none will move the ammo. They're OK with guns (tho I'm not, I'll do that myself, too), but ammo is a no-no, read your contract - .
 
We still do lots of open houses here in North Illinois. They work great if not overused, about once a month is advised. By the way, it is great if your neighbors go through your open house. Think about who has the most interest (after you) in getting that house sold? The neighbors of course. And they will want the 'right kind' of people moving in, so they will be telling their friends, family, co-workers etc about this great little house just down the block. Please, invite all your neighbors to your next open house. Have food and drinks for pete's sake!

Carrying two mortgages is a bitch. Think about how much faster your house would sell if it was a thousand or two UNDER market value, then think how fast you will lose a lot more than that carrying that second mortgage a few months. Realtors know home owners usually have very inflated (I am not accusing you of that) ideas about what their house should be worth. Buyers however tend to know just how much they want to spend, they have probably seen two dozen or more homes just like yours, and will buy the cheapest comparable just about every time.

If you want some really disinterested advice, you can e-mail me at [email protected]
I got no money in this one...!
 
Once upon a time I lived in a rented house in an "upscale"area of the city, but in the worst part of hte "upscale" area, which was full of houses selling cheap that could be rehabbed for double selling price.. a flipper's paradise so to speak.

Our landlady notified us the house was going on market, we told her, no showings without appointment, but would owrk with her to keep place looking tidy.
Her Realtor stuck the lockbox on the front doorknob. As a result we had people busting in all hours of day & night, when I was working third shift and sleeping in the morning. :fire: :banghead:
They scheduled a Sunday open house without telling us, I came out the back door at 7 am face to face with some guy poking around the garage, with G21 in hand. Turns out he was the Realtor running the open house. Needless to say we were not pleased!!

What finally did it was when I stepped out of the shower NOT in a towel and stood face to face with a young couple in the hallway examining my bedroom. With the rifles laid neatly on my blanket-covered steamer trunk, and a Glock 21 in a holster hanging from the bedpost & an assortment of range targets displayed on the walls... Not to mention a Chevy Suburban in the driveay minus the motor & trans... We looked Redneck fer sure, hoo daddy.This was 8 am on a Friday morning.
Realtor said, "But I called!" I said, "You didn't talk to me!" Turns out, my landlady's Realtor wasn't aware the house was rented to tenants.

Quick solution: We had a heavy duty security type storm door that locked with a key, that protected the door where the Supra keysafe was on the doorknob. This got locked, and wasn't unlocked unless Realtor called in advance.
 
Tom Bri: thanks for the words of advice and confirming what I suspected. As you might suspect, and anyone who knows me will confirm, good looks and charm have never gotten me anywhere, I'm just glad the guy decided to leave of his own free will... Maybe I convinced him a little.

Not to knock them for those who like them, but rowhouses aren't for me. Looks like my buyer is "movin' on up" from being crammed up her neighbors rears to a house with land and some set back. There isn't much worse than having a problem neighbor, and I have to say that having had that, and at much current place having great neighbors it's a lot better having great neighbors... And when they're not it doesn't matter as much when you can't hear them make a nuisance of themselves.

Mike - way to crash down on parade.:fire: Maybe I can find some neighborhood kid... ;)
 
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