If you’re selling your home, you probably have a lot on your mind. One of the most important steps of getting your home ready to sell is cleaning and organizing your home to show to potential buyers. But what many homeowners don’t think about during this process is keeping their home and valuables safe. Unfortunately, a burglary occurs every 15 seconds in the United States. But, with a little planning and being proactive, you can make sure your home is not only spotless, but protected from anyone who may not have good intentions. So to help get you started, let’s talk about a few ways to keep your home safe during the selling process.

Safety Tips for Selling Your Home

One of the most important steps to take is to discuss showings with your realtor. Your realtor is going to be your biggest ally in keeping your home protected. By discussing showing procedures, you can know things like who is responsible for locking up the home after a showing, if someone is going to watch prospective buyers during the showing, and what system will be used to track showings. All of this information can make you feel more comfortable with having strangers enter your home if you’re not there.

It’s also a good idea to always have someone with you if you’re showing your home to potential buyers. If you’re showing the home without your agent, ask a friend or neighbor to be at the house with you during the showing. And when you’re scheduling showings, try to make them during the day whenever possible. If someone wants to come early in the morning or very late at night, ask them to try to come at a reasonable time.

And when it comes to your potential buyers, always keep records of who looks at your house. If you have an agent, they should keep a detailed record of potential buyers, but it doesn’t hurt to keep your own record as well. By collecting important information, like their name and contact information, not only are they less likely to try anything during the showing, but you’ll have their information if someone goes missing after the showing.

This may seem obvious, but it’s always a good idea to lock away valuable items. Because the average U.S. home has about 300,000 items in it, it’s going to be impossible to lock every single item away. However, items like jewelry, money, important documents, and car keys should be locked in a secure safe, or at least be put in an area that isn’t easily accessible. In doing this, you can ensure your valuables will be protected.

When you have a trustworthy realtor handling the showing process, you generally don’t have anything to worry about. But if you follow these few simple tips and trust your instincts you’re sure to have a smooth house-showing process no matter what.