Important Warning To Texas Residents Selling Their Homes

Texas homeowners selling their homes are being warned about a common sales practice that could result in a big loss, injury or even death.

International gangs of criminals have been stalking people trying to sell their homes in California, Michigan and Arizona. So far ...

Hopefully, this heads up will keep 'em from jacking anybody up here in the lone star state or at least minimize the number of people they do hit.

There are several, very popular, online tools used by realtors and individuals selling their homes and other properties. Sites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com allow buyers and sellers to look properties over, inside and out, from every angle and vantage point possible.

Yep, criminals are looking too. Learning the layout, the location of preferred items to steal and, sometimes, even if and when homes are unoccupied. When they bust these creeps, cops can get warrants to check their internet histories.

Our detectives have gone on their Google Maps and found that they're searching certain addresses, that they were on Zillow or Redfin." - yahoo

Google shows peeps very clear images of just about every spot on Earth. According to Yahoo, Google has mapped 36 million square miles with Google Earth and Google Street View.

98 percent of the places where people actually live are online.

Those real estate sites though really bullseye what criminals want to know so, if you use them, use them wisely. Here's what security expert Pat Brosnan said:

In listing photos on realty service websites, Brosnan suggested, avoid including photos of your security cameras, locks, security systems, gates, windows and doors whenever possible.

He also advised against showing photos of the home at night that reveal where any motion-activated spotlights are located. - Yahoo

Read more tips here. You should also make sure, once your home is sold, that it's taken off the site(s). Whether you're selling your home or not, you can also easily blur out your house on Google sites.

PS: Car thieves love that google inside info too.