So you’ve decided to sell your house and manage the process yourself, privately, without employing a real estate agency. You may not, however, have stopped to really think about the risks to your, and your property’s, safety. This aspect must be taken into account, and you should do everything you can to reduce the risks.

Putting a ‘for sale’ sign up: a risky business

Although common, this is a dangerous thing to do.

By putting up a sign, you’re making things very easy for prospective thieves or squatters as it clearly advertises the fact that the property may be empty and, therefore, much easier to break into.

We suggest you think carefully before putting this type of sign up and if you’re not entirely sure then don’t do it. Weigh up the pros and cons, and seek alternative ways and places to advertise your property without giving the exact address.

If you do decide to put a sign up, don’t put your phone number on it.

Unwanted visitors

At the end of the day, whether you put a sign up or not, if you decide to sell by yourself you will have to manage and organise viewings.

There will be viewers who really are interested in buying, but there may also be visitors with very different intentions who are actually interested in seeing inside your house to check what’s in there and ascertain possible entry points and weak spots with an aim to breaking in.

Remember you could be inviting someone to your home who intends to try and steal something or come back and break in later. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened, unfortunately. Costa Blanca North is, however, a very safe place.

Moreover, you are going to get a lot of phone calls from people who are interested in the property and they might not come at convenient times. You need to decide whether you’re prepared to deal with them, or whether it’s going to cause unneccesary, extra stress.

Selling your house is no laughing matter. Make sure you consider all the pros and cons before deciding whether to manage the sale yourself or whether to rely on a real estate agency to do the hard work for you. If you decide to look for an agency, you need to find the right one. Do you know how to do that?

Our advice is to employ an agency to reduce the risks as much as possible.

Professional agents analyse each individual property on their books and only put up signs where they consider it safe to do so.

Plus, if they do decide to put a sign up, it will be clear that there’s an agency involved which will evaluate potential buyers’ interest and intentions.

A real estate agency will also deal with and filter calls before arranging viewings, so you can rest assured that anyone coming to your home is really interested in buying.

Working with a real estate agency has many more benefits than you might think: peace of mind, privacy and safety.