Has it come to this? and why you shouldn't wear crocs to a crime scene.



First break-in - too much
broken glass for crocs

 Yes, I did wear crocs to this crime scene - thieves threw a big rock through the door which caused the alarm to go off.  There was glass everywhere.  I couldn't go into the house all the way. I had to tip toe gingerly into the kitchen so I could survey some of the damage. They smashed the thermostat and the alarm control panel off the wall. We dealt with that break-in and about a month later... another theft at the same house.

I got a phone call from a fellow who was the neighbor of one of my listings.  He used to cut the grass for the homeowner and wanted to get in touch with her.  I gave him the information and then he said, "By the way, did you know the air conditioner is missing?"

No, I didn't know the air conditioner was missing! Very frustrating! So, I ranted on facebook for a minute and two friends commented.

One said, "While my rental is vacant, I had the appliances and the air conditioner removed until I get a new tenant."

The other said, "In some areas, we don't advertise the address of the rentals we manage nor do we put a sign in the yard."

Amazing!

I will be talking to my alarm company representative and see how hard it is to put a sensor on the air conditioning compressor so that if someone tries to steal it, the alarm will go off.

Of course, it didn't help that when the owner moved out she:

• Took the curtains off one of the front windows
• Didn't have anyone cutting the grass
• Didn't ask any neighbors to  park in the yard
• Generally left the place looking abandoned...

I welcome any words of wisdom.