This morning, I received an email with a story from Detroit where thieves have taken to breaking into homes listed for sale via the combo lockboxes. I would say that while it may be on the minds of some, I am surprised that safety isn't more of a concern when I'm listing a house. I suppose that buyers - now turned sellers - are conditioned that their material possessions will be safe during the listing period. However, that's not the case if the listing agent utilizes combo lockboxes, to which anyone can get the code.
One of the criminals from Detroit worked for a central call center and had access to thousands of lockbox codes. However, a criminal doesn't need to work at a clearing house to gain access to such information. Often times, I have shown a house on combo to find the latch holding the keys was open or the combo was left on the face. Buyers with dubious intentions could also look through an agent's notes for the combo code or check the lockbox face while the agent is opening the door. At one home, I found an agent's handout on the kitchen island with the lockbox code written on it.
Some agent's prefer the combination lockboxes because of the inexpense. One of the Supra electronic lockboxes from the board of REALTORS costs around $100 while a combo box is no more than $20 from the hardware store. The security factor with the electonic lockboxes is that the listing agent can run a query to see the last person to access the box. Should an agent leave a door unlocked, set off the alarm, etc, we know and can take appropriate action.
Sellers should demand that their agent's not put their safety or their possessions at risk to save a few measly bucks. After all, when you signed up to sell your house, you didn't sign up to get robbed as well. Unfortunately, tough times bring out the worst in people and now, more than ever, safety should be among our chief concerns.
We have committed to our sellers to using the more expensive, but safer lockboxes. As we near closer to the holidays, I hope that our fellow Charlotte area brokers will commit to doing the same.
Jonathan Osman
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