Sellers, one of the best reasons to hire a REALTOR(r) to represent your home in the marketplace is for security reasons. Realtors are trained to help protect your safety while promoting your home to buyers in a wide variety of mediums from the Internet to the sign in your yard.

Because they work closely with the public in unique ways, Realtors are considered by law enforcement officials to be in a high risk profession. Realtors are mobile, work in a variety of locations, and are often in the company of consumers whom they may not know well. To protect their own personal safety, as well as your property, Realtors have evolved a number of safety guidelines that might be helpful for you as a consumer to know.

Qualifying buyers

One advantage of working with a Realtor is that buyers won't come to your home without being accompanied by a professional. Realtors make themselves the point of contact so that you don't have to open your door to just anyone who comes along. They also share information about your home in a broker cooperative called the multiple listing service (MLS), so that other brokers may bring their buyers.

The buyers that your Realtor and others bring are also likely to be better qualified to purchase your home. Realtors work with buyers to make sure they are capable of making a sound offer on your home, but they also do some qualifying for their own personal safety. As they accompany buyers to your home, they know they can be victimized as well as you if they aren't careful and know who they are dealing with.

Promoting your home with virtual tours and multiple photos

Realtors promote your home on Internet sites such as Realtor.com, where homes are showcased with virtual tours and multiple photos. According to Realtor.com, homes with virtual tours are viewed 40 percent more often by consumers than those without. Internet consumers have been proven to choose a home, buy more expensive homes and close more quickly than offline buyers, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Your Realtor may suggest a virtual tour or multiple photos, but for your personal safety and the protection of your valuables, she or he may insist that precious items, such as collectibles or rare paintings, not be displayed. In fact, your Realtor may suggest that you store valuables while your home is being marketed.

Open houses

Most Realtors who offer open houses do so with increased security. Either they will ask another Realtor or a lender to accompany them, or they will notify their offices and other persons of their whereabouts. Realtors request visitors to sign in and many are starting to request drivers' licenses of buyers before allowing them to view the home.

Because open houses are so public, rarely do buyers attend with the intention of pilfering anything, but you can foil people who want small items such as high-cost prescription medicines by cleaning out your medicine cabinets for the duration of the open house. Also, clear off any bric-a-brac and collectibles, and keep jewelry under lock and key.

Your personal safety

Don't ever open your door to anyone who says he or she is interested in seeing your home. If the buyer is genuine, he or she will be accompanied by a Realtor, but keep in mind, that no Realtor would stop and knock on your door without going through a proper procedure to consult the MLS for showing instructions. So if you get a knock on the door, direct the buyer to contact your agent, and let the agent qualify the buyer and determine if the buyer is represented by a Realtor or not.

Published: February 25, 2003

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.