Sellers Must Take Steps to Safeguard Their Valuables, Prescription Drugs

Open houses can be mighty tempting to thieves.

Because of isolated incidents over the years in which jewelry or prescription medicines have disappeared during open houses, national and local real estate associations routinely warn sellers to lock up their valuables or remove them from the house.

"I always instruct sellers to do that, whether it's jewelry or prescription medicines," said Jennifer Walker, an agent with McEnearney Associates in Old Town Alexandria. "I tell people if you've got good drugs, put them away because somebody will come in and steal them."

Walker can speak first-hand of the hazard because of an incident about four years ago when her clients were robbed of Percocet, a prescription painkiller. The clients thought they had taken precautions by storing the pill bottle "in the back of a closet behind some towels," Walker said, "but when they came in after the open house, it was gone."

At the time, open houses in Alexandria were drawing crowds of 100 to 200 people. So it was hard to watch everyone who came in, Walker said. "We think we figured out who it was -- a lady with a big bag over her shoulder -- but we couldn't do anything about it."

Now, there are fewer people to keep an eye on, but sellers are doing more open houses, Walker said. Some agents routinely work in pairs to cover more square footage.

David Maclin, head of the Prince George's County Association of Realtors and a real estate agent in Upper Marlboro, said the number of incidents in his area is low.

"But on any listing I get, one of the things that I do is to give the sellers a checklist, reminding them to secure valuables. If they have gun cabinets, I tell them to get them out of the house," he said.

Thefts of prescription drugs at open houses or yard sales are frequent enough, though, that the Los Angeles Times recently quoted a spokesman for the White House Office of Drug Control Policy on the activity. Spokesman Tom Riley told the newspaper it was called "pharming," a term also used in the Internet world for scams in which a malicious code is installed on a personal computer or server, misdirecting users to fraudulent Web sites without their knowledge or consent.

Here are some more tips for sellers holding open houses, from local agents and June Fletcher's book "House Poor: Pumped-Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids":

· Keep a log of visitors.

· Report any theft immediately to the police.

· Store all non-essential items to make rooms look bigger.

· Remove personal items, such as family photos, so buyers can visualize themselves in the house instead of seeing you and your family.

· One exception: Display diplomas or awards from prestigious universities or community groups. They "convey the idea that the neighborhood is full of educated, accomplished people," Fletcher writes.

· Make sure the house is super-clean.

· Make it smell good. Bake bread or cookies in the spring, or add fresh flowers. Cider simmering on the stove is perfect in the fall.

-- Sandra Fleishman