Show-Day Safety: Smart moves for buyers and sellers

• Open houses attract buyers and opportunists. Plan security, monitor flow, and control access from the door.
• Protect small valuables, keys, documents; lock away tech and tools criminals might return to steal later.
• Buyers: interrogate area and property security; budget for upgrades; involve a professional assessment before making an offer.

Introduction

‍Show Days sell homes, but they also create security gaps. Treat them like an event with a risk plan: controlled access, clear roles, and zero blind spots. Do this right and you protect people, assets, and the deal.

Key Points you must nail

Pre-Show Day

• Notify your security provider; request periodic patrols and share an emergency contact list.
• If a stand-in agent will host, brief them on access control and panic procedures.
• Test panic buttons, intercoms, doorbells and cameras the day before.

Access & Supervision

• Keep the front door closed; admit visitors individually.
• Log names, numbers, and vehicle details; stagger groups or use “by-appointment” slots.
  No roaming: visitors stay with the agent at all times.

Protect High-Risk Items

• Remove jewellery, watches, wallets, passports, spare keys, laptops, tablets, gaming devices, and prescription meds.
• Lock away portable docs (title deeds, bank statements); don’t leave paperwork in drawers.
• Stow power tools/yard equipment so they aren’t “shopped” for later theft.

Visibility & Deterrence

• Open curtains/blinds or switch on lights to eliminate hiding spots.
• Consider a visible guard; ensure CCTV is recording.
• Use a mobile panic app for on-site staff.

Buyer Due Diligence

• Ask about local crime types, response times, and neighbourhood security schemes and fees.
• Speak to residents, domestic staff, access-control guards for ground truth.
• Inspect complex access controls, pedestrian permeability, and visitor management.

Property Security Audit

• Check burglar bars, security gates, electric fencing, alarm zones, outdoor beams.
• Inspect perimeter walls, gates and intercoms; list required upgrades and price them into your offer.
• Get a professional security assessment to surface blind spots

Agent Accountability

• One person at the door; one person on the tour.
• Keep line-of-sight on entrances and handbags/backpacks.
• Shut down the showing immediately if protocols are ignored.

Summation & Way Forward

‍Don’t wing Show Days, standardise them. Sellers and agents should run a written safety checklist at every viewing; buyers must budget for realistic security upgrades and verify the neighbourhood’s protections.

Engage your security provider for patrols and panic readiness, log every visitor, and keep supervision tight. That discipline protects your people, your valuables, and your deal and it turns a security risk into a professional, trust-building experience.

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