The risks of open for inspection

It's hard to believe that you need to show more personal identification to join a local video library than you do to walk through a stranger's home.

But that's exactly what happens with the majority of open for inspections where anyone and everyone is encouraged and invited to come in to take a look around a home that's for sale.

And this is the normal practice of buying and selling property in Australia - after all, you're not going to be able to sell unless and until prospective buyers have had the chance to take a look around and satisfy themself that this is the property for them. But this approach, whilst accepted, can carry considerable risk for sellers, especially in relation to theft and personal safety.

Open for inspections do unfortunately, provide would-be thieves an ideal opportunity to case a property, enabling them to look for easy access points, check for valuable items and identify security systems. And the same goes for online virtual tours where the video camera may inadvertently highlight valuable things like paintings and other works of art, TV's or other personal possessions attractive to thieves.

The real risks

Sellers should be wary when their agent tells them he or she has not observed or had any problems around theft. The fact is that when thieves strike, it will usually be after and not during the inspection, meaning the true risks are not reflected in the selling agents' experiences and observations.

In addition to theft, there are other risks associated with open for in inspections and in particular, how they're conducted.

First and foremost they're usually conducted at a set time on a set day(s) for a set period of time (usually between thirty minutes to an hour). While this may be convenient for the selling agent and perhaps the seller, it may not be ideal for the buyer who is after all, the one person you need to please the most.

One of the key rules of selling is to make the sales process as simple and straight forward as possible. By having set inspection times you're creating possible barriers to attracting buyers (because they may not be able to make the time or if they arrive late, could run out of time and be forced to come back later) meaning they're more likely to go to sellers that focus more on buyer needs than their own - especially now that the housing market pendulum appears to be swinging towards the buyer.

A rewarding experience

Secondly, sellers at the behest of the selling agent are rarely present at open for inspections. This is unfortunate because their knowledge of the property is far superior to that of the selling agents' and they're therefore in a much better position to honestly and openly answer any questions a potential buyer might have as well as being able to discuss and point out the features and faults of the property, its history and that of the neighbours and the surrounding neighbourhood. Remember, buyers generally feel more comfortable dealing directly with sellers.

Finally, open for inspections can attract many viewings, often at the same time. For instance, you could have fifteen viewings in a half hour period which is one every two minutes. This doesn't give the selling agent much time to get to know the buyers, answer their questions or monitor their inspections.

Furthermore, if there's a large viewing group, any negative comments made can adversely influence others in earshot. In the worst case this could drive down the price or stall the sale.

So with all this in mind, here are some tips that will help make your open for inspection a safer and ultimately more rewarding experience:

Safety and security

• Ask the selling agent what steps they'll take and what steps you should take to protect your belongings. This will give you some insights into how seriously and how prepared the agent is about respecting your privacy, safety and security.
• Require the agent to get and record photo identification before allowing anyone to enter your property. The important thing here is to help identify the genuine buyers from those with more sinister things on their minds.
• Require the agent to have two representatives present - one to meet and greet and another to wander through the property to keep an eye on things.
• Hide and/or store off-property any valuable possessions. Make sure you don't leave money or medication lying around and remove all forms of identification (like passports, bank statements and credit card receipts) to avoid identity fraud.
• Require the selling agent to conduct inspections by appointment only meaning each buyer would be escorted through the property one at a time - this would provide greater control and supervision.
• Be present during inspections. If buyers know the owner is present, they are more likely to act appropriately (for instance, not rifling through your bedside draws which has nothing to do with the property - to do so is simply an invasion of privacy) and with respect. If you can't make it, arrange for a trusted friend or family member to attend in your place.
• Check with your insurance company as to whether or not you are covered in the case of theft of damage. Sadly, most insurance policies will not cover you if something happens during open for inspections as buyers are considered your guests i.e. they enter the property through invitation.

Enhancing the sale

• Consider one-on-one inspections (but never on your own - make sure you've got someone with you) which would enable you/the selling agent to give the buyer your/their full and undivided attention.
• Allow more flexibility with inspection times. This may result in some extra inconvenience but in the end it will be worth it when the sale goes through because the inspection was better suited and more convenient for the buyer.

What steps would you take to protect your possessions during Open for Inspection? What role do you think the selling agent should play? (Share your views below)