Open House Burglaries

MSNBC reports another string of burglaries at open houses and this time over 70 homes have been burglarized. The report says that the suspects enter and indicate to the agent that they want to look around "without being pressured" they then split up and look for small items of value, jewelry, etc. By the time the agent has an idea anything is going on it is too late. This is one of many reasons open houses in occupied properties are just not a good idea. OK, I'll admit they are great idea for the agent, the agent meets buyers and sellers but rarely do we sell the home we are holding open. Even when the open house guest does not want to be “pressured”, and by the way who does, it is the agents job to sell the home so we still show the guest the home and qualify them as we do so. If they do not want to be accompanied through the home then we ask them to leave. I know what you are thinking, what about multiple groups coming through the home at the same time? Unless you have sufficient staff to accompany every guest then the personal property in the home is vulnerable. Not a problem in an unoccupied home but a big problem otherwise. One solution we have successfully used on occupied homes is to hold an open house extravaganza. By this we mean a total open house blow out. We start by having our staff invite the nearest 500 neighbors. Yes, that’s right, 500. We do this by canvassing the neighborhood and handing out flyers and personal invitations a week before the open. We invite all of the real estate agents in the area as well as all mortgage brokers and loan originators. We invite our support teams such as title, escrow, home repair specialists and all businesses we trade with in the area. We ask the seller to invite all of their friends and neighbors to the open house. We also ask the seller to remove all highly valuable items and, unlike conventional wisdom, we ask the sellers to be there for the open house. On the day of the open we place signs and balloons at every strategic intersection to make the home easy to find and we call everyone we can think of, and we can think of a lot, to come to our open. We staff appropriately with agents, loan originators and assistants to help with the details and to help serve refreshments. We make it a very fun event and yes, we often have over 100 groups come through. Not bad by any standard for an open house. Unfortunately most sellers will only let us do it once because it is really quite a lot of work but well worth it to get this level of comprehensive exposure. Lastly we thoroughly clean up before we go. As for burglars, they don’t stand a chance when we drastically outnumber them. Work hard, have fun.