Professionals Real Estate 
Open homes are an important part of the selling process, and many sellers hope to get as many people through their front doors as possible. However, while most sellers want to let potential buyers browse through their home, there are often concerns about the level of respect people will pay to their belongings and personal information.
While most buyers are extremely respectful and have no intention to go through a property owner’s personal belongings, there are a few things you can do to help keep your personal information safe.
Remove personal items
When getting your property ready for sale you should try to de-personalise it as much as possible. Remove any personal wall hangings such as framed photos or posters and store them until your home is sold.
Removing personal items from your home helps it present better for staging purposes as buyers can better imagine themselves living in the property.
By having no personal items in the property you will also prevent buyers from gathering any potential information about your personal life, which could influence their buying decisions even though it has nothing to do with the property itself.
Keep documents out of sight
Just as you should get rid of any physical objects that convey something about your personal life, you should find a place to store away your personal documents such as bills, contracts or anything that you don’t want people to snoop on.
The best place to keep documents is in a locked drawer or cabinet so buyers can’t accidently find them. Another option is to take sensitive documents offsite altogether during open homes. The same advice should apply for small items of significant value.
Check the mail
Don’t forget to check your letterbox and hide mail before any inspections. Mail can include a lot of sensitive information that you don’t want to get in the wrong hands.
If you aren’t living at the property while it is on the market then ask your real estate agent or a friend to check the mail for you so that it isn’t left lying around.
Having a trusted real estate agent at your property inspections will help them go smoother and go towards ensuring that buyers don’t go snooping where they shouldn’t be, but it never hurts to put some extra precautions in place to protect your personal information.
For more selling advice read our guide – 101 Tips to Sell Your Home.
