Open House Safety: 10 Tips for a Safe Open House

As the spring real estate season kicks off, a successful sign of your recent marketing efforts is a well-attended open house. As important as it is to bring in a high volume of traffic and attract the right audience, it is equally as important to ensure the safety of your sellers, prospective buyers, and yourself during this period of high traffic. We compiled ten pointers to keep in mind as your weekends begin filling up with successful and safe open houses.

Safety Tips for Your Sellers & Prospective Buyers:

1.) Keep pets secured: Coordinate with your seller ahead of time to make sure that pets are not around during the open house. If this is not possible, work with your seller to make sure that his or her pet is comfortably secured, away from the traffic flow.

2.) Remove small/breakable items around the house: Request that your seller removes items that a prospective buyer could risk stepping on or tripping over, or that his or her child could possibly ingest.

3.) Create ambience...cautiously: While it is nice to add those warm touches, if you are lighting a candle, try using electric votives (even better, they are reusable!) to avoid a spill or fire. If you are looking to fill the house with the aroma of fresh baked cookies, turn the oven off prior to the arrival of prospective buyers.

4.) Ensure seller notifies you of any safety concerns: Whether it is a broken step, an exposed wire or loose flooring, make sure your seller lets you know in advance, so you can steer prospective buyers away from a potential injury.

5.) Remind your seller to put away valuables: While the exposure your listings receive during an open house is invaluable, it is still important to remember you do not always know the intentions of those coming through. It is better to be safe than sorry and remind your sellers to hide or lock up jewelry, collectibles, electronics and other valuables.

Safety Tips for Agents:

1.) Familiarize yourself with the exits: Prior to the start of the open house, take a few minutes to learn where the exits are and unlock the deadbolts, in case you encounter a situation that requires a quick exit.

2.) Keep in contact with your office: Give your office your itinerary and schedule a time to call to check in (or ask someone at the office to call you).

3.) Keep your phone charged and close by: Before your open house, make sure your phone is fully charged and keep it on hand when you're giving tours, should you need it in case of an emergency.

4.) Be diligent with signing in prospects: Getting prospect's information is not only a great follow-up technique, but a way to record attendees if anything is amiss after the open house.

5.) Trust your instincts: Your gut is usually right. If you follow all of the above tips and your intuition still tells you that something about a prospect or situation is not right, you are probably correct. Take the necessary steps to make sure you are safe, even if that means calling 911.

Do you have any safety tips that you offer your sellers or always follow yourself while hosting open houses? Please share! From HomeFinder.com, we wish you a safe and successful spring real estate season!

To view the original article, visit the HomeFinder.com blog.