Safety Tips When Showing Property
Showing a property alone can present various safety risks. The good news is, there are some steps you can take to help increase your safety when showing your property to prospective tenants or buyers. While these tips do not guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen, they can help increase your level of protection.
Pre-Screen
Before you allow anyone into your property, you should always pre-screen them. Not only can this help increase your safety, it can also help you from wasting time showing the property to people who are not qualified to rent or buy it. Pre-screening could be as simple as asking some qualifying questions over the phone. Examples of valid questions to ask over the phone include:
What is your name?
What is the best phone number to contact you?
Why are you moving?
When would you expect to move-in?
How many people will be living in the property?
What is your monthly income?
It is important that you ask every prospect the same qualifying questions and that you do not ask anything that is considered discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act.
You could also have the applicant fill out a pre-screening application form, which would basically include the same types of questions you would ask over the phone. The applicant could email or fax the application back to you. If an applicant seems hesitant or unwilling to answer these simple questions, they are not someone you will want to show the property to.
Daylight Is Your Best Friend
If possible, you should show the property when it is still light out. Granted, many people will only be able to see the property after they get off of work, which is usually after 5 or 6 P.M., which may or may not still be light out depending on the time of the year and the part of the country you live in. You should be OK showing the property at these times because neighbors should be around or also getting home from work.
You should definitely avoid showings at odd hours, such as at 10 P.M. at night. During any showing you should keep all curtains and shades open to help deter any criminal or suspicious behavior.
Don’t Give Your Last Name
You should not give prospective tenants or buyers your full name. They could use it to try and impersonate you or could easily use the internet to find out a lot of personal information about you. Simply using a first name with a buyer or tenants is more than acceptable until you are signing actual contracts with them.
Hide All Mail/Important Documents
When showing property, you should make sure all mail and important documents are out of sight. You do not want to tempt anyone to look through or even steal your documents.
Leave the Flashy Car at Home
Whether you have one dollar in the bank or one million, your personal wealth is no one’s business but your own. When showing property, you want to leave the flashy jewelry and cars at home. People with ill intentions are looking for these signs of wealth. You should also keep the bare minimum in your wallet. Do not carry around every credit card you own or excessive amounts of cash.
Never Leave Them Unattended
When showing property, never leave the prospective buyer or renter in the property unattended. This is especially true if the property is currently occupied because there will be objects and documents that can easily be stolen. You can give the people viewing the property space to walk around so they do not feel like you are smothering them, but you should always have them within eyesight.
Secure the Property After the Viewing
If the individuals open an exterior window or door, make sure you lock it after them. It can be easy to overlook this, but it is a very simple way for the prospective buyer or renter to gain access to the property at a later time if they have intentions of stealing from the property.
Program 911 into Your Cell Phone
You should always make sure your cell phone is fully charged before a showing. Secondly, you should have 911 programmed into your phone. If anything goes wrong, this will help save you valuable seconds.
Trust Your Gut
Finally, if something does not seem right, you should trust your instinct. If five grown men show up to look at a one bedroom apartment wearing gloves in the middle of summer, something is probably a little off.
