pictures from the walls and other places and secure them. This is essential from the staging point of view of appealing to the buyers as well as protecting the interests of your family members. • Leave the house Safe for visitors. Before showings to the prospective clients, turn on the lights to give a better appeal as well as to ensure the safety of the agents and buyers. Only when all the rooms have adequate lighting, can the buyers and agents move comfortably inside. Repair or remove loose carpets and floorboards. Do not leave the driveway and sidewalk slippery with snow. Arrange for snow removal so that you do not become liable for mishaps to the visitors. • Beware of uninvited visitors. Be careful when unexpected visitors come to your doorstep. Ensure that only real estate professionals having control of the lock box should be able to access the home. Establish this as the minimum procedure to see the home. • Beware of rental fraud scam. This kind of tricky fraud is alarmingly growing these days. Some scammers remove the listing of homes for sale and then place them on the rental list in Craigslist. It is advisable that you paste a sticker on the door-front stating that the property is not for rent. This will also give an indication to the viewers that it is only for sale. The sticker can carry the phone number of the listing agent, the district attorney’s office, and a link to the internet crime complaint center. • Secure the viewings. It is a good idea to know who is 65
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