Home > Blogs > Gita Bantwal > Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties Real Estate. Tips for home buyers, home sellers by Gita Bantwal,Realtor at Re/Max Centre Realtors.

Five safety tips for FSBOs. Be careful when you let strangers into your home.

By Gita Bantwal

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Centre Realtors

February 23, 2009 09:50 PM

If you are selling your home on your own please read these tips. These are not meant to discourage you but to help you.

1. Please keep you valuables away. Do not leave jewelry on your dresser.

2. Please hide prescription medicines .

3. When someone calls you for an appointment , take down their number and then call them later so you know who you are dealing with.Try to check the number with reverse directory.

4. If you are having an open house make sure there is someone else with you at all times.Have people sign a ' SIGN IN' sheet and take down their name and telephone numbers. They may give you wrong name and you can not do anything about it.

5. When you are showing the home do not let people come when you are alone, unless you have no choice. Turn on all lights before they come so you do not have to go into any dark rooms, Let them enter the room first, you follow them. Have your cell phone with you. Alert someone that you will be showing at that time and to call you at a certain time to make sure you are safe., if you are showing it by yourself.

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Russell Lewis

Realty Austin, Austin Texas Real Estate - Austin, TX

Broker,CLHMS,GRI

Gita, these are excellent tips and as agents we should also remember to apply these principles to our sellers when we hold open houses!

Feb 23, 2009 10:31 PM

Debbie Malone

Londeree's Real Estate & Property Management - Lynchburg, VA

From Lynchburg To The Lake (434) 546-0369

Gita, we are a very trusting society (at least where I live) and many folks wouldn't think twice about who they're inviting into their home when trying to sell themselves. These are great tips.

Feb 23, 2009 10:38 PM

Bill Gassett

RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA

Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

Always better to be safe than sorry Gita. There are a lot of crazy people in this world.

Feb 23, 2009 11:04 PM

Cindy Edwards

RE/MAX Checkmate - Johnson City, TN

CRS, GRI, PMN - Northeast Tennessee 423-677-6677

good advise- too many times I have an open house by myself. Not the smartest thing to do.

Feb 24, 2009 04:59 AM

Joseph D. Federico

MVP Realty - Naples, FL

Southwest Florida Homes with Joe Federico

Gita-Great advice for all those F.S.B.O's out there, and really great advice for all.

Feb 24, 2009 06:42 AM

Gita Bantwal

RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA

REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Russell, Thank you for reading and for the comments.

Debbie, I agree. Sellers are so eager to sell on their own that they do not give it much thought sometimes.

Bill, Agents have to be careful when they show homes .

Cindy, I usually have a girl friend with me .

Joseph,I agree it is good advice for all of us.

Feb 24, 2009 09:47 PM

Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®

RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI

Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

Great tips Gita...we are also told to never go in the basement with a stranger, although I have done this too

Feb 26, 2009 01:18 AM

Jason Sardi

Auto & Home & Life Insurance throughout North Carolina - Charlotte, NC

Your Agent for Life

Gita - This is a good idea for a post. My guess is that a lot of folks don't take these into consideration when taking on the already daunting task of trying to sell a house by themselves.

Feb 26, 2009 02:08 AM

Kristin, I agree it is not safe to go down alone.

Jason, You are right. Agents are trained to be careful .

Feb 26, 2009 02:16 AM

Barbara Delaney

Park Place REALTORS, Inc. - Roanoke, VA

Dear Gita,

These are great tips, not only for FSBO's, but all sellers.

I would like to add another one. The seller should check out their home for hazards.

I know of a buyer who did a back flip on a defective front porch railing. A broker stepped on a rug in the attic of a house and wound up caught between the attic and the master bedroom! I have narrowly escaped harm when I stepped on a rake in the backyard.

All sellers need to check out their homes for hazards. They might wind up with a major lawsuit, instead of a sale!

Barbara

Mar 01, 2009 09:03 AM

Barbara, Thanks for some great tips.

Mar 01, 2009 09:52 AM

Five safety tips for FSBOs. Be careful when you let strangers into your home.

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