Why you don't ever want a lock box on your property!

Real Estate Agent Lock Boxes: A Really Bad Idea for You and Your Family

Thinking of listing with an agent because:

A - You don't think you have the time to sell your house yourself, or

B - You think it's too risky to sell your own home (after all, you never know who might be out there), or

C - You want to maintain your privacy.

You will get none of that when you use an agent.

Well, if you list your home with an agent they will most likely want to put the key to your front door outside your home in a lock box. A lockbox is a gizmo that attaches to your front door knob that is basically a locked box with the key to your door inside. The idea is that since all the agents have the key to that box all they have to do is open it up get your key and show the property. What a great idea! Until you realize that not only does every agent in the region have access to your home anytime but that everyone who has access to that agent has access to your home as well.

Spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, relatives, friends...anyone who has access to a realtor has access to your home.

Think about that for a minute.

A recent criminal case...http://www.reallyrottenrealty.com/blog/son-uses-moms-realtor-lockbox-key-burglarize-homes/

Why is a lock box combined with access by multitudes of unknown people such a bad idea?

Other than the obvious security concerns, there is the very real threat of a home intrusion while you are at work. Because legitimate agents do come and go from homes, an imposter agent (a rogue agent or someone with access to the lockbox) going into a home would be unnoticed. Legitimate agents and imposters are hidden in plain sight because neighbors can't tell them apart. Compared to a burgler in a ski mask someone with the code to the lock box is invisible. Hence the great risk both day and night. Do want to even worry about the possibility of someone coming into your home at night when your family is sleeping, or while you're away on a business trip. Security systems provide no security if a lock box overrides thoses defenses. Think it doesn't happen here? Think again!

What is a 'rogue' agent?

As an example see the attached photo from the Valley News a few years back. This realtor, Robert McLaughry, a principal of Lang, McLaughry & Spera Real Estate Company or whatever they've changed their name to again, was caught red-handed going through the medicine cabinet of a listed home (presumably looking for pills). Clearly a tragic case involving an unfortunate individual with a substance abuse issue who also happened to be a realtor. This is precisely the issue, how many others with access to lock boxes, are similarly affected? Who knows? Is it worth the risk to your family, your privacy to have a lock box? You decide.

Maintain your privacy and safety, sell by PRIVATE sale through Picket Fence Preview. You will know who was in your home because you will show it. No more wondering who was there that day, if any one was there that day? Why do things seem 'moved'...out of order...not as you let them? Use your imagination, you get the idea.

Also, you might be interested in reading the report by Stanford University economists showing that the real, true cost of using an agent is somewhere between 12-13%! Click here