Reply #9: People are really stupid when it comes to stuff like this.

[AndyA]

Years ago, I was looking at houses, and went to an open house not far from where I lived at the time. It was for sale by owner, and the lady of the house was on duty to show people around and tell them about the house.

The owner was a record producer, and his wife told us all about the things they'd done to the house, the pool had been refinished, new paint, the mortar had been tuck pointed, etc. Then, to my horror, she explained that if we were interested, we'd need to call her on her cell phone, as she was leaving the following day to join her husband in Florida for a couple of weeks, and that no one would be at the house during that time. (It was fully furnished at the time, and some of the things were very expensive.) She said a friend had a key to show it again to people who wanted to see it again while they were gone.

She told us about the neighbors, many of whom spent weekends at their lake homes, and explained that the house sat so far back from the street that you couldn't see or hear the neighbors, nor could they see or hear you.

Then we were shown the location of the hidden, built-in wall safe.

I almost said something, but figured since the open house was about to end, any damage was already done. The house had an alarm system, but the woman said they were leaving it off so one of her friends could show the house while they were away.

If she wasn't robbed or burglarized, it was a miracle. :shrug: