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Pair Busted In Open House Scam!

As the housing slowdown occurs and real estate agents are desperate to show homes to any warm bodies.

With this the incidents of theft are going to increase.

Agents should take care to get identification from homebuyers before taking them out to see homes if at all possible.

SAN JOSE, Calif.
- An unemployed San Jose woman was arrested and accused of stealing more than $200,000 in jewelry and knickknacks during real estate open houses.
Susan Hjeltness, 47, allegedly pulled off the thefts by posing as a home buyer with her 13-year-old son and an adult companion.
While touring homes, she unlocked a door or window and returned later, according to San Jose Police Detective Corey Green.
At least 10 homes were burglarized, Green said. Police became involved after a homeowner noticed Sunday that 200 of his wife’s Hummel figurines worth about $200,000 had vanished a few days after the house was shown, Green said.

Posted by Connecticut FHA LOANS,CT VA Loans, CHFA CT First Time Home Buyer:CT CHFA Loan on 10/24/2006 11:51 AM

Comments (3)

realtors, open houses, connecticut, new york, florida, south carolina, mortgages, new jersey, fairfield county, litchfield county

3 Comments on Pair Busted In Open House Scam!

OCT

2006

Great Post, I'll be posting a blog on Open House Safety which is also a concern. Open Houses should be done by more than one person take a mortgage broker, spouse or lastly have the seller stick around in the background, just for saftey sake.

When I have open houses, I always go around and check doors and windows before leaving. I also do this with vacant houses when Supra tells me there's been a showing- go by and check things out. Lots of agents/buyers will leave a garage door or something unlocked, not because they're planning on coming back and stealing something, but just out of carelessness. It would be easy for a buyer to get an agent to show them the house and do the same on purpose, though, if the house were vacant.

NOV

2006

Yes, OH safety is a big concern, both in terms of items that may disappear/become damaged, and in terms of the REALTOR's own safety. Maybe it's our market (NYC), and the incidents that happened in the past, but it never hurts to be careful. In our firm, we strongly encourage agents to let someone know where & when they're going to be, and check in as soon as the OH is over. Typically, the part-time secretary who's in the office during weekend daytime takes care of it.

Another approach is to have "agent teams", several agents who will be doing OHs in nearby areas and agree to check in with each other periodically. Personal tip: casually suggest that "my partner / buddy / whoever" will be back "in a few minutes" - this deters would-be [casual] thieves. Of course, going over the property after the OH and making sure each point of entry is secured is part of the procedure.

With vacant properties, I also try to talk to neighbors (there are usually a couple of curious ones who come out & see what the fuss is about, so it's easy to initiate contact), explain what's going on, and give them my card. This assures them that I'm legit, and usually gets me an "extra pair of eyes on the scene". Most people are glad to help.

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