I just read a pair of article by David Lazarus from the San Francisco Chronicle on the dangers of virtual tours, open houses, etc. They can be found here:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/27/BUGLHCVL1K1.DTL
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/03/BUGF9D2MK51.DTL

The articles bring up some valid points to think about if you are contemplating selling your home. Unfortunately, the articles also rush to the conclusion that open houses and virtual tours are a thief’s best friend and agents who suggest you do them are just out for the fast buck. This despite the fact that the police Mr. Lazarus interviewed said they seldom get open house burglary complaints.

For the record, I googled San Francisco’s crime statistics and found that the SF police department gets OVER 500 burglary cases reported a month. (See: http://www.sfgov.org/ ).

As such, I just don’t see how the reporter can seriously call something a “Boon for Burglars” when the latest example he has is six months (and 3,000 cases) old and the police say they can only remember a guy six or seven years ago who used to specialize in doing it.

However I’m not writing this article to discredit Mr. Lazarus.

Indeed, I believe security is a serious issue to be considered when selling your home.  I’m just disappointed because a seasoned reporter from a large, well respected newspaper could have written a great article interviewing safety experts and discussion SOLUTIONS a seller could take to safeguard themselves from such a crime (i.e. doing his readers a service). Instead the reporter took the cheap route to sensationalism by playing upon the FUD factor (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).

So, in future parts of this article I'm going to do what the reporter should have done and address ways to minimize the potential for theft while your home is for sale.