Things to Watch Out For at your Open House

When you ask your real estate agent in Northern Colorado to hold an open house you will need to do more than the obvious when preparing for this special type of "showing". These items are not often mentioned by a realtor and can result in some major problems for the home owner.

Three Proactive Steps to Take Before the Open House

1. Get your prescription drugs and syringes out of the medicine cabinet:

These items are one of the common things that can disappear during your open house. This has happened over and over again in Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor and all the other towns and surrounding areas in Northern Colorado. An individual "uses the restroom" during their visit and does a little snooping, usually looking for pain killers or syringes. This is a real violation of the home owner and often realtors get system wide warnings when this is occurring on a regular basis and a description of the suspect is consistent.

2. Make sure your financial information, checkbooks, and credit cards are locked up and in a safe place:

Identity Theft can follow an open house and it can cost you a huge amount of time and money to get your financial life straightened out. It can also really mess up your credit rating and ability to get the mortgage you will need to buy that next home you are wanting to build your nest in.

3. Don't Leave Extra Keys to Your Home or Car out in plain view:

This can invite an unwanted visitor to your house at some future date. Over 162 cars were stolen in Fort Collins last year and I am sure some of the keys for them came out of a home or condo that was for sale.

Again, most home owners are not warned about these dangers by their agent.

Protect Your Home During Regular Showings Too

The above can obviously be applied to a normal showing for the home you have for sale, but a seller is less likely to have a problem because the individuals visiting your home or condo are with their realtor most of the time, except when they might be in the bathroom. A good realtor will pre-qualify buyers before showing them a home. This will not only eliminate people who are finding entertainment by house hopping and pre-qualification for a mortgage only allows serious buyers into your home. Ask your realtor to request that other realtors only show the home to pre-qualified buyers.

If you would like us to visit with you about listing your property and how we provide you with the kind of service you deserve, please give John a call at 970-412-1657.

If you would like more extensive information about homes, town homes and condos for sale in cities such as Fort Collins, Loveland, Berthoud, Wellington, Timnath, Windsor, Severance or nearby urban or rural Northern Colorado areas, please feel free to call.