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REALTOR®: REALTORS® Share Safety Tips with Clients

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

REALTORS® with the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® are being asked to review safety tips and ask their clients to take safety precautions as well, especially at open houses.

"An open house can be a great sales tool, but it also exposes you to numerous unfamiliar people for the first time," said Julia Truesdale Keady, president of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. "It is best to stay safe by practicing these guidelines."

• Sellers should remember that strangers will be walking through their home. Remember to put any valuables in a safe, secure place. This includes items you might not initially think would attract interest, such as prescription drugs. Remember to hide any such items.

• REALTORS® should not leave their briefcase, purse, laptop or cell phone in view. You should have your cell phone on your person at all times. Wear clothing with pockets so you can always have your car keys with you as well, and never carry large amounts of cash or credit cards.

• At an open house, REALTORS® should be alert to the pattern of visitors' arrivals, especially near the end of showing hours. In some areas, a group of thieves will show up together near the end of the open house and, while a string of "potential buyers" distracts the REALTOR®, the rest of the group walks through the house, stealing any valuables they come across.

• Finally, upon leaving a client's property, whether after an open house or a standard showing of a model home, make sure all doors and windows are locked. Thieves commonly use open houses to scout for valuables and possible points of entry, and then return after the agent leaves.

• Clients should know while their REALTOR® will take all of the above safety precautions, when they return home, they should also immediately verify that all doors are locked and all valuables accounted for.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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