Women 'risk safety to sell home'
Updated on 08 May 2008
Eight out of 10 women selling their home could be putting their safety at risk in order not to miss out on a potential sale, research shows.
Despite 55% of women saying they would never invite a man back to their home on a first date, 82% were quite happy for a male househunter to view their property while they were alone.
One in five women admitted they would not even think about safety issues when showing a man around their property, according to insurer Sheilas' Wheels.
A further 63% said they did not ask their estate agent what safety checks, if any, had been made on buyers before they were allowed to view a property, 57% admitted they did not even find out what the viewer's name was and 62% did not ask if the person was coming alone.
The group also warned that women trying to arrange a sale themselves, such as through the internet, were making themselves vulnerable.
It said 81% of women would arrange a viewing with a male buyer without asking for any details, while 25% would give out their mobile phone number and 19% would even discuss what time they left work and when their house was empty.
Around 77% of women admitted that the main reason they were not protecting their safety was that they were worried about missing out on a potential sale.
Two-thirds of people also said that estate agents were unavailable at arranged viewing times, while 64% were too embarrassed to ask if a man would be accompanied by any one.
Just over half of women did not want to bother family and friends and 43% did not want to ask their estate agent to be there at all times.
But 30% of women who had shown a man around their home alone said they had felt nervous or intimidated, with 10% saying they ended the viewing early because they felt uncomfortable being alone with a stranger.
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