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Please Put Your Valuables Away - Tips To Store Valuables When Selling Your Home

By
Managing Real Estate Broker with Lakeland Real Estate Group, Inc. BK646565
Please Put Your Valuables Away - Tips To Store Valuables When Selling Your Home

At the time of a listing appointment with a homeowner, I make it a point to talk about where to put their valuables because I recently witnessed first hand, how uncomfortable it is when the police asked me that at one of my showing a valuable piece came up missing.  Not so pleasant when it is under my watch.  

Loss Prevention

As real estate agents, we are not responsible for any loss that occurs during our listing agreement to sell your home. My advise to homeowners is to remove all valuables. Here are a few tips storing your valuables when selling your home: 

Store your valuablesOutside storage unit - declutter comes to mind when putting you house up for sale. Why not rent a storage unit, put your valuables in a box and lock it up in a storage unit.

Out of sight, out of mind - this is the least expensive way to keep valuables away from sticky fingers.  I'm sure you have a secret hiding spot in your house where you can store and lock up valuable items out of sight.  

Safe deposit box - this is recommended for jewelry, collections such as coins and stamps.

Store valuables with family and friends for safe keeping - If you have family and friends you trust, you may ask them to keep your valuables while you are selling your house.
 
Just remember where you put your valuables.  Recently, on of my homeowner called fanatically saying they are missing some collectible items and asking if the home was shown recently.  I said, let me check since it is on a Electronic Lock Box and I can see who, when and what time was the home shown. I've told the homeowner, that the home has been shown by this many agents at such time and days.  However, it was not shown recently.  So, I asked the homeowner if they stowed their valuable items at the time I placed their home on the market.  Luckily, when the homeowner called me back, they were excited that they found the pieces and they had remembered putting the items out of sight, where it became out of mind and forgot about it.
 
 
 
I hope you found this post useful! If you need help finding or selling your Lakeland, Florida home, please contact Petra Norris - REALTOR(R) at 863-619-6918. If you’re new to Lakeland, I’d especially like to extend a warm welcome. I value my clients and provide them with honest, reliable service. Allow me to introduce you to the Lakeland FL real estate landscape and all it has to offer.

 

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Copyright © 2011 By Petra Norris *Please Put Your Valuables Away - Tips To Store Valuables When Selling Your Home*

Comments(8)

Kristen Wheatley
Better Homes & Gardens | The Masiello Group - Brunswick, ME
Supporting Success - Best Job in the World!

Sound advice.  One home that I showed, had a money clip with several Benjamin Franklins in it on the dresser!  To cover myself and my buyers, I emailed the agent on my phone as we left to let them know.

Dec 09, 2011 04:00 PM
Mark Delgado
houses for rent, Solano County & Glen Cove - Benicia, CA
Benicia and Vallejo, Property Management, rental h
The same principles apply to renting an occupied home. Please, put your valuables away!
Dec 09, 2011 05:04 PM
Laura Allen, Lake Tahoe - Truckee Real Estate for Sale TahoeLauraRealEstate.com
Coldwell Banker Realty, Tahoe City, CA (530) 414-1260 - Tahoe City, CA
Tahoe Real Estate Agent Helping Buyers and Sellers

Petra - Great tips for sellers.  Secure your valuables, and remember where your hiding spots are at!

Dec 09, 2011 06:34 PM
Merv Edinger & Associates
Remax Nova - Halifax, NS

Petra, if you do not mind, I am going to re-blog. Please also remind sellers that if they are the type of people who own firearms to PLEASE SECURE THEM AWAY while selling a home.  A co-worker of mine was showing a home to a young family, as the adults turned to look at the view & discuss some concerns, one of the 3 kids quickly ( fast fingers on those little ones ) openned a drawer on a coffee table & pulled out a GUN!

Dec 09, 2011 10:23 PM
Ginny Gorman
RI Real Estate Services ~ 401-529-7849~ RI Waterfront Real Estate - North Kingstown, RI
Homes for Sale in Southern RI and beyond

Petra, these are the points that sellers forget as well as agents and although i don't harp on it I am very upfront with the possibilities...many times I have seen cash on a dresser prior to an open house & opened the top drawer, threw it in and covered it!  The homeowner is always grateful as well as ashamed that they were careless.  I've never had it happen to me on theft at a showing but an associate of mine has so I am very mindful of it..this is another great pointer the Lakeland FL short sale agents bring up to ensure their clients are represented to the fullest.

Dec 09, 2011 11:22 PM
Nancy Conner
Olympia, WA
Olympia/Thurston County WA
Such a good reminder! In a perfect world all agents and buyers would be 100% honest...but leaving valuables (especially small items) out in plain sight is just tempting fate.
Dec 10, 2011 04:17 AM
Petra Norris
Lakeland Real Estate Group, Inc. - Lakeland, FL
Realtor, Lakeland FL Homes for Sale

Nancy - thanks for stopping by to comment; sellers get so side tracked by day to day stress and forget the little things to put small things away. 

Ginny - it doesn't surprise me you would put things out of sight :) It was certainly a shock to me when the police called.  

Merv - thank you for the re-blog; leaving firearms unsecured is reckless when selling a home. Extra precaution must be taken when firearms are in the house.

Laura, most definitely, thanks for stopping by

Mark - you are absolutely correct, thanks for your comment 

Kristen - great way to protect yourself letting the listing agent know 

Dec 10, 2011 11:47 AM
Laurie Clark CRB Angel Realty LLC Your Monument Realtor 719-502-6572
CRB-CCSS-ASD-HBS-RSD-Denver Short Sale Agents - Monument, CO
Angel Realty, LLC

Excellent tips for sellers. This is very good advice as it protects you, your clients and any potential buyers. Just another reason why you are the Lakeland FL short sale agent to call. Thanks for sharing.

Dec 11, 2011 01:45 PM