You've straightened up, fixed up, spiffed up, wiped down, thrown out, and generally prepared your home to be shown. During this, the listing phase, of the homesale, strangers accompanied by agents will invade your pristine palace to give it the once-over, some more than once.

For ease of access, your agent will very likely offer to attach a lockbox to your home's front or rear doorknob or to a side wall. This small container holds the house keys and can be accessed only by an agent's computerized key card, which track a broker's name, agents name, and time of visit.

Homeowners who opt not to use a lockbox may have a more difficult time selling the home. Very often, a motivated buyer will decide to see a property on the spot. But the prospect of losing time to pick up keys at an agent's office may dissuade the buyer from seeing your home. This holds especially true for out-of-towners constrained by tight schedules. If buyers can't inspect a home at their convenience, they may just move on.
 
Although the new computerized locks provide greater security in terms of placing an agent and buyer at a home at a specific time, homeowners should still take the following precautions:

• Remove extra sets of keys from hooks in the kitchen, garage, mudroom or any other room where they may be easily seen and nipped.
• Never leave money in plain sight. This includes piggy banks.
• Consider storing jewelry or furs outside the home. Place jewelry in a safe or safe-deposit box.
• Lock up or remove firearms.
• Don't leave an itinerary or personal calendar open on a desk or hanging conspicuously on the refrigerator or anywhere else in the house. Along these lines, take down or put away flyers, theater tickets or any other items announcing times you'll be away.
• Turn down the volume on the answering machine so no one can overhear private, possibly information-packed, messages. A car service may be calling to confirm your ride to the airport for your weeklong getaway.