It’s a concern that there’s not much talk, if any, about safety when it comes time for showing your house. The reason why real estate firms don’t address the issue is because they use the calls off yard signs as a prospecting tool. But I believe safety needs to come first when showing. Part of the reason I feel FSBO is so much safer is there’s a hands-on quality to it. You get to talk directly to the person that is going to be entering your home, not a receptionist that is scheduling appointments all day. In fact, many calls to agent’s offices are routed to call centers.
Here are a few tips to follow before your showing:
- Request the potential buyer’s cell phone number and email address and then call and/or email them back to verify
- If it’s a general email address such as Gmail or Yahoo – not a company address – ask them to take a picture of their driver’s license and text it to you. That’s pretty simple.
- Spend a few minutes talking with them over the phone. You can usually get a sense of a person quickly.
Buyers understand that you don’t know them and they’ll be happy to work with you to make you feel safe when showing your house. Follow these tips and take a few simple steps to be safe.