Protect Yourself At Open Houses
The TEXAS REALTOR monthly magazine issue for June has an excellent article written by Ty Williams entitled, "Six Ways to Protect Yourself at Open Houses. As noted in the magazine you can get more safety tips at https://www.texasrealestate.com/for-texas-realtors/texas-realtor-safety
As listed in TEXAS REALTOR:
DON'T HOST ALONE: Bring at least one partner with you. "one person can greet people at the door and a licensed person can show the home to the visitors."
MEET THE NEIGHBORS: The jest here is to meet the neighbors and invite them over. You might ask them to come over and check on you if they see that your car is still at the home after the showing hours are over.
GO LIVE: You can ask the sellers if they will allow you to video tape the foot traffic during their open house. This way they can hear and see what the visitors are saying about the home if you are streaming live. Ty suggests keeping the camera at the front door with a sign that says "Smile Your are on Camera!" He suggests using the sign as an opener to start up a conversation with the visitors.
TURN TO TECH: Ty says that there are many other devices that can be used throughout the home such a motion detector to alert you where in the home a guest may be. In my opinion, this may be overkill but if you have a high dollar listing that will attract a very large crowd; this may be a good idea.
CALL THE POLICE BEFORE YOU NEED THEM: Ty suggests calling the police department prior to the open house to see if they will have a patrol car come by a few times. I know that in my area and in Houston this can be a doable thing.
LEAVE A TRAIL: Make a phone call as you are wrapping up the open house to leave a digital trail. Go back to the neighbors homes and thank them for their help. This is also a good way to get more contacts for future listings. I may even leave them with small thank you gift. By checking into Facebook or other social media you will leave a time line of where you were.
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