Open House Safety: Spring Edition

The Lake Tahoe real estate “on season” is about to ramp up, which means if you are getting ready to sell, you are preparing yourself (and your home) for showings and open houses. Holding an open house is all a part of the selling process. You prepare your home to look its best by cleaning and decluttering, hoping someone falls in love enough to make an offer.  At the same time, open houses are a time where your home is open to strangers. While all of our Lake Tahoe real estate agents have been in the business for a long time and know to keep a watchful eye on every visitor, there are a few things you can do on your end when you prepare for an open house.

• Remove all prescription drugs from your medicine cabinet. Even if you think a medicine is harmless, still lock it up with the valuables you have in your safe. Prescription meds are a common item that can go missing after an open house.
• Lock up heirlooms and obvious valuables such a jewelry and crystal.
• Don’t forget the remotes. This is an item most people don’t even think twice about. The extra garage remote hanging by the back drawer or on the counter is easy to slip into a purse or pocket so either add that to the locked up valuables, take it with you or ask that the agent keep it with them. In fact, all extra keys, remotes and fobs should be stored away from anyone touring through your home.  The last thing you want is a stranger gaining access to the back shed or garage while you are away.
• Lock up personal information such as birth certificates, financial statements, account information, and pretty much any personal document you don’t want in the hands of anyone else. While home décor has managed to make file cabinets look pretty, it doesn’t always make them secure. If the filing cabinet in the office won’t lock, place these documents elsewhere until the home tour has ended.
• Most real estate agents will go through the house and close it up. This means lights are off, doors are locked and the house is ready to vacate. Upon your arrival, make sure that all the windows and doors are locked-from top to bottom. If you live in the home, chances are you will do this anyway at some point throughout the day, but there have been rare occasions where a guest will unlock something in the hopes they can return later and easily gain access. This especially holds true if you have a lot of expensive belongings and electronics.

While selling a home is a safe process, make sure you pick a quality Lake Tahoe real estate agent that is familiar with your neighborhood and on the same page in regards to safety. If you have any questions in regards to selling your home, hosting an open house or general Lake Tahoe real estate info, call us at 530-543-6676.