Protecting What’s Precious: Keeping Your Jewelry Safe When Selling Your Home

Selling your home can be an exciting time, but it can also leave you with a lot to worry about.

Maybe selling your home means saying good-bye to the first property you’ve ever known, moving to an entirely new city, or preparing for a new addition to the family. Chances are, you already have a lot on your mind. The last thing you want to worry about is your jewelry.

Although you might be worried about your most valuable pieces and sentimental heirlooms being lost or stolen during the moving process, there’s no reason to worry. When taking the correct precautions, you can find a perfect buyer for your home without losing your favorite jewelry along the way.

Your Jewelry Is At Risk

Why should you be any more worried about your jewelry now than you were before putting your home on the market?

One of the answers is simple: houses that are up for sale are often high-priority targets for thieves. Why?

Firstly, there is lots of opportunity. With open houses and showings, many thieves will not look like stereotypical cartoon characters, wearing all black and sneaking into your house late at night. Instead, they might appear like friendly couples or nosy neighbors who stop by your house to take a look around during open houses.

The risk, however, will not end after all your open house guests go home. In certain cases, potential thieves will not take anything from your home, but will still use your open house as an opportunity to scope out your home, from potential entrance points to the areas with the most valuables.

Additionally, thieves may believe your house is more likely to be unoccupied if it is on the market (which is true in some cases). Even in Canada, a country with a reputation for safety and friendliness, the annual burglary rates are sometimes higher than America’s.

Here are our tips to make sure that all of the fine gold jewelry you have in your current house will make it to your next one:

Find The Right Real Estate Agent

While there are steps you can take to protect your home on a daily basis, it can be hard with constant showings and open houses-- after all, you do want someone to buy your place! Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone.

No real estate agent can keep their eye on all visitors at all times. But, you should talk to your realtor about your concerns, and ensure that they will be on the lookout for suspicious behavior or visitors that do not seem genuinely interested in the property. Spotting potential thieves before they can strike is the best way to nip burglary in the bud.

Find a “Sitter”

All of your jewelry is important to you, from custom engagement rings to family heirlooms to pieces that were once birthday presents. Sometimes, the best way to protect it all is to (briefly) give it up.

If you have friends and family you trust, consider letting them “babysit” your jewelry collection during the open house period. As the threat of burglary might increase during the entire moving period, you can also consider having someone watch over your jewelry until you’re completely moved in to your new place.

Consider A Safe

If you cannot find a “sitter” for your fine gold jewelry, consider purchasing a safe or jewelry locker. It might be mean coughing up a few bucks now, this could be a worthwhile investment when you consider what is at stake.

Invest In A Bolted Safe

This is a pricier option, but a worthwhile one. Although portable safes are available at lower costs, a thief will go for the easy solution: take the whole case and figure out access codes later. Having a safe bolted to the ground might seem like a hassle, especially in a home you are preparing to leave, so you do have another option available to you:

Rent A Safety Locker In A Bank

Your local bank can offer you a secure and temporary place to store your jewelry. As you rent a safety locker at your bank, you will not need to pay nearly as much as buying a safe, and you do not have to go through the stress of bolting anything to the floor. The only thing you need to remember is to pick your jewelry up before you leave town.

Of course, even if your pieces are kept safe and sound during the moving process, they could still face the risk of damages as they bounce from place to place. To discuss the best ways to prevent any damages during the moving process, you can reach out to a local jeweler to find out more about your jewelry pieces and the specific care they might require.

Moving can be tough-- so it’s worth it to take some basic steps to make sure you never have to face the added stress of lost or stolen jewelry.