08/17/2026
Showing the not so enjoyable side of real estate.
I have a vacant, lightly staged listing that I check on several days a week. I had an open house scheduled Saturday and noticed as soon as I pulled up that my For Sale sign was gone.
Once I entered the house, I heard music playing and walked in on three teens hanging out in my seller’s home. Turns out my fight-or-flight response might be broken, because I definitely did not choose flight. 🤦🏼♀️
They had moved a bunch of my staging furniture into a small closet/storage area and appeared to have made themselves a little hangout spot. Two of the teens fled when I called police, while one stayed.
What I was left with was quite a mess. There was shattered glass, furniture to put back, and blood throughout the house from an injury involving one of the broken windows. Thankfully, all of the teens were identified and their parents were contacted.
I’m sharing this because real estate carries very real risks sometimes. We walk into vacant homes, occupied homes and unfamiliar situations every day, often alone. When we open that door, we don’t ever truly know what’s waiting for us on the other side. It didn’t really hit me until afterward how differently this situation could have gone. I was very fortunate that I encountered three teens who weren’t combative. It could have been much worse.
And because real estate apparently never stops being real estate… 😂
I never even got my Open House signs pulled before everything happened. Despite TWO police cars sitting in front of the house, people still showed up for the open house.
One gentleman walked up, looked at everything happening and asked:
“Is this a bad time?” 😂
Sir. Yes. Yes, it is.
Obviously, because of the broken glass and blood I couldn’t let anyone inside, but one of the officers handed me my Open House flyers so I could give them to the three people who still stopped by.
Oh, and my missing For Sale sign? Yesterday I found it tossed in an overgrown alley behind the house.
Pay attention to your surroundings and trust your instincts, especially when entering vacant properties alone. ❤️
