As any real estate agent will tell you, the best way to sell your home is to clean it like you’ve never cleaned it before and stage it so it looks modern and pristine. It can be difficult to maintain with people living there, so many people move out of their homes while the homes sit on the market. There’s one major problem, though. For many, a for sale sign in front of a vacant home is an invitation to break in and that’s always bad for potential buyers. The thieves don’t have to win, though. Here are some steps you can take to secure your belongings and secure your home:
1. Clear it out — For Sale signs and especially open houses are excuses for people to go through your belongings. Remove all paperwork from your home. You’d be surprised at how much paperwork contains sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, etc. You should also take any electronics with you.
2. Get an alarm — An alarm system might not prevent a break-in, but it will shorten the duration of the home invasion.
3. Arm your home with cameras and lights — Motion detector flood lights will draw attention to your home, which is a bad thing for burglars. Cameras will tell the police who the burglars are.
4. Invest in security doors — Steel enforced security doors make breaking in far too difficult for most intruders. If you have a beautiful door that is a focal point for your home, you might not want to replace it, but you can reinforce the door you have.
5. Secure your fence — One of the best way for people to break into your home, unnoticed, is for them to do it through the back yard. Secure your fence. Make sure the gate is locked and secure and that the fence is too tall for someone to climb over. You can add some iron to the top if you can’t afford a new fence.
6. Notify the police — If your home is going to be vacant for any length of time, it’s always a good idea to notify the local police. While they patrol the neighborhood, they can pay a little extra attention to your home.
It might cost you a little extra to secure your home, but in the long run, it can save you a lot of money and perhaps it can even help bring in a higher offer for your home.
Featured image via Mark Moz/Flickr.
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