Selling a vacant home comes with its risks which can be dangerous and harmful to the property or even the owner. Selling a vacant home increases the chances of it being broken into, damaged, and vandalized.
However, there are precautionary steps you can take to prevent the chances of these criminal acts from happening when selling your house.
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Alert Local Law Enforcement
If your house is vacant, it becomes an easy target for unscrupulous elements therefore you must alert the local authorities of the state of your house. Let them know your house is empty and you need them to keep an eye on your property. Your local authority owes you that much as long as you pay your taxes. They may not necessarily have to sit in front of your house, just frequent “drive-bys” in your neighborhood will send a message to anyone planning to break into your house.
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Contact Your Neighbors
It’s a great idea to inform your neighbors about your plan to sell your house especially when it’s vacant. You can ask them to help you watch your property in your absence and report any strange movement in or around the house. Also, you can ask your realtor to make constant checks on your home.
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Stage To Reflect An Occupied Home
Even though your house will be empty when you want to sell it, you shouldn’t stage your house as an empty property. Some criminal-minded individuals will intentionally look up homes that are up for listing to see if they’re empty. So when staging your home, upload as it is an occupied one; probably with some furniture. This can dissuade criminals from thinking your home is unoccupied.
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Consider Whether Open Houses Are Worth The Risk
There are many factors to consider before you allow open houses. Some realtors will advise you to do open houses every weekend to get your house sold. While some realtors will advise you against it. The main purpose of open houses should be to show potential what the house looks like and know if they’re interested in buying.
The disadvantage of doing open houses is that it allows criminals to survey your house and decide the best time to break in and operate. So you need to be careful if you decide to do open houses for your home.
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Secure Possible Entrances
This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but many sellers remain oblivious to this aspect. Securing all possible entrances that could facilitate a break-in should be your priority. Never forget to lock your doors and window as this will ensure your home is secured at all times. You could include additional security measures such as installing a deadbolt on all doors and a wooden or metal stick on sliding door tracks.
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Install A Security System
Installing a security system in your home helps to improve security. With the advancement of technology, you can watch any activities going on in your home from anywhere you are around the world. You can hire a security company to install a security system in your house. With this, you’ll be alerted immediately if anyone tries to break into your home.
If you want to avoid break-ins in your home then you should ensure you get your house off the market in time. To sell my house fast Philadelphia, you need to entrust the process into the hands of a reliable cash house buyer. At Home Cash Guys, we buy houses in Philadelphia at a competitive price. If you’re looking to sell your house in Philadelphia, you can trust us to close the sale of your house as fast as possible. You don’t have to fear break-ins when you sell your house to us.
