AZCentral.com is reporting a story this morning about homes being burglarized by “fake buyers”. Here’s the short version:
A fake real estate agent calls the seller’s realtor asking to show the home to her buyers and for the sellers to not be home. The agents exchange lockbox codes, and the showing is scheduled. Later, the sellers notice small but expensive items are missing – watches, jewelry, etc.
There are a couple of things about this story which bug me: 1.) Why are your valuables readily available when strangers will be inside your home?, and 2.) why isn’t there an ARMLS-approved, SUPRA lockbox on the home, which would record every instance of a key being removed and by whom, and for which there is a record of everyone who has access to the keys?
I’ve written about this before – “For Sale Sign can be a target”. And we advise our clients accordingly – be smart about selling your home, especially regarding your valuables and your safety!
Your not sure who’s most at fault in this unfortunate situation Realtor,
Chris Butterworth
Chris Butterworth is: Realtor. Analyst. Husband. Father. Writer. Amateur Photographer. Triathlete. Soccer Dad. Big fan of technology, efficiency, and the Arizona Wildcats.
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good idea, Doug. Write it down once & then every client gets the full disclosure/advice. Most people don’t think about bank statements, or about password protecting the screen saver on their home pc.
I like to go down a checklist of things to put safely away, and people are always surprised when I hit on something. For example: medications, jewelry, cash, bank statements, guns…
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