Be safe when you're selling your home
Are female vendors really safe as houses?
Although over half (55 per cent) of women interviewed said that they’d never let a man into their house on a first date to protect their personal safety according to research by Sheilas’ Wheels Home Insurance[1], 82 per cent of women are prepared to put their personal safety at risk by inviting men in to view their home while home alone, so as not to miss out on a potential sale.
Worryingly, 63 per cent of women did not ask their estate agents what safety checks (if any) were made on buyers before allowing them to visit their property. Astonishingly more than half (57 per cent) didn’t even know their potential buyer’s name and almost two thirds (62 per cent) of women didn’t ask their estate agent whether the interested party was coming to the house alone.
Furthermore, with the ability to arrange private house sales online, more women are liaising directly with potential buyers to sell their properties and sharing personal information with strangers. The research showed that four out of five (81 per cent) women would agree to viewings with men without asking for any details from the potential buyer. A quarter of women (25 per cent) would give their personal mobile number out to men interested in their property and 19 per cent said that they would discuss personal details - such as when they left work and when the house was empty - before meeting the buyer.
Jenny Fawson from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust www.suzylamplugh.org has provided some top safety tips for showing your property to potential buyers who are unknown to you:
- Keep ‘small talk’ to a minimum with a stranger, as you may accidentally give away important personal information.
- If you’re a single woman and feel uncomfortable showing a male viewer around your property, don’t worry about stretching the truth and make reference to a partner / friend.
- If selling your house privately, get as much information as possible from the interested party before arranging a viewing and pass on their contact details and home address to a friend or relative. Ask a number of questions until you’re confident that they’re genuinely interested in purchasing your property.
- If the potential buyer is being sent by an estate agent, ask if their identity has been checked. Do not accept the viewing unless they have.
- If the potential buyer is not coming via an estate agent, do your own checks. Always ask for a work number and call it later (but before the viewing) to confirm that they are who they say they are.
- Try not to conduct viewings alone. If you're single or your partner's unable to attend, ask a friend or family member to be with you.
- Take a friendly but professional approach. Avoid getting too familiar in case it gives out the wrong message. Try to look confident and in control.
- If you have to conduct a viewing on your own, keep a mobile phone with you at all times with a speed dial to a close friend or family member.
- Be alert and continually assess the situation. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, don't be afraid to cut the viewing short. Use a pre-planned excuse.
[1]Sheilas’ Wheels used the independent online research company MyVoice who surveyed 1,000 of the UK’s female homeowners, from across the country aged 18 and over, on 21st April 2008
