Who is liable when there is a theft at an open house?

Answer 1

Limited information.

Was it an open house conducted by a licensed Realtor, the homeowner, friend?

If an agent, they had a fiduciary "duty" to the homeowner.

Lots of unanswered questions for me. Sorry.

Answer 2

The realtor could be if you could prove that they were not careful enough in watching people, like if they left the house unlocked and went to lunch or something. But then you took some risk by allowing the realtor to let strangers into the home and that person represents you as your agent, therefore you might as well have been there when the theft occured. (the realtor is you legally). . Other recourse is your homeowner's insurance, And of course if you can get any clue at all as to who stole whatever You can use the police and go ofter them. Might check out the nearest pawn shops, and see if there is anything there. If so report it to the police. Might be your best bet.

Answer 3

Essentially, the person who stole something is liable, period. In the U.S., the realtor is relieved from that liability under the terms of the documents in his/her listing. Personally, I would never allow a public open house in my home. Our place is currently on the market and we will not agree to an open house except the "broker open." Even a broker open house is dicey IMHO. At our former home an expensive living room chair was ruined by a realtor who plunked his large body down. We had to eat that.

At the end, you cannot look to the Realtor or the agency. So, I'm sorry to say, you are out of luck.

Answer 4

Impossible to say with the very VERY limited info you provide here.

Generally-speaking, it it the owner who ends up paying for the stolen item. If someone can show where there was gross negligence (ie, invited over 200 members of the local Clepto Annon group) then the owner is on the hook to replace the item, generally speaking.

As for "liable" or "Blame" I'd start with the thief.

Answer 5

If it was being shown by a real estate agent, they have a fiduciary obligation to be sure the property is secure in the owners absence, if they are responsible for the property during that absence.

Agents carry what is called errors and omission insurance. Mostly this is to cover liability due to their negligence in paper work, but they tend to carry regular liability along with the E & O policy.

Good Luck