Safeguarding valuables in a home on show days

WHEN putting your home on the market you are inviting people to view it to facilitate the marketing and sales process.

Whether you allow the estate agent to hold show days or one on one viewings with the agent, you have some responsibility to ensure all the valuables in the home are either locked away or removed from the property altogether, says Annette Evans, general manager for the Institute of Estate Agents Western Cape.

“Agents have a responsibility of care to walk through a property on a show day and double check that sellers have put away all valuables, and frequently will find laptops, phones, iPods, watches or even jewellery which have been forgotten in the rush to vacate the house for a viewing or show day,” she says.

Sometimes people are a little more lax when they are in the home while buyers are visiting the property and leave items lying around. But the reality is that little items are a temptation, says Evans.

“Agents cannot be held responsible for the contents of a home. Although they should exercise due diligence and keep an eye on potential buyers and visitors to the home, frequently families or groups of people do split up while viewing and it is impossible for the agent to follow everybody,” says Evans.

“The purchase of a property is a big decision for a buyer and 85 percent of buyers are generated from show days” says Evans. “Instead of avoiding show days, rather reduce the risk of items going missing and reduce the temptation by locking items of value away.”