Be Careful Out There

Tragic events in recent months serve as stark reminders of the importance of agent safety. In British Columbia in February, a 24-year-old female agent was found dead in a vacant home after apparently being lured there by a mysterious caller earlier in the day. No arrests have been made.

Just six weeks later, in Wisconsin, a 71-year-old agent — a mother of six and grandmother of 16 — was also killed at an empty listing. An ex-convict, who called for a hasty showing after seeing the agent’s number on a for-sale sign, was arrested and charged with her murder. Unfortunately, these extremely sad stories of violence are just two of many in our industry. We must learn from them.

STAYING SAFE

Real estate is a high-risk profession. Every day, agents are placed in unfamiliar locations or unoccupied properties, often alone with clients. But by honing their instincts, watching for warning signs and understanding how to avoid or disarm potentially harmful situations, agents can greatly improve their odds of staying safe.

In 2003, my network developed the RE/MAX Safety Awareness for Every Realtor® (S.A.F.E.R.) program in the hopes of helping them do that. We conducted seminars, created print and online tools, and added safety programming to our satellite TV network. Our agents embraced the concept, and the material remains as relevant as ever. A sampling of tips:

• Have new clients meet you at the
office. In your initial conversations,
explain that safety, both yours and
theirs, is a major consideration during
the process.

• Photocopy their driver’s licenses
and write down vehicle information. Add
this to their client file. And introduce
them to others in the office so that you’re
not the only one who’s met them.

• Give someone your client files and
schedule for the day, outlining where you
will be at what time. Check in regularly.

• Develop code words that would let
someone at the office know you’re in
trouble.

• Drive yourself to showings — don’t
ride in your clients’ car. Have them follow
you if they can’t ride in yours.

• At showings, find out where the
exits are. And unless you know the clients
well, don’t go into bedrooms or
the basement with them. It’s much better
to stand at the stairs or in the hallway.

• If possible, put the home’s garagedoor
opener in your pocket. If you feel
threatened or in danger, discreetly open
the garage and say the owners must be
returning.

• Note the location of phones throughout
the house. If something goes wrong,
use a house phone — rather than your
cell phone — to call 911. But have 911
programmed in your cell phone’s speed
dial, just in case.

• At open houses, put kitchen knives
and other potential weapons away before
allowing people inside. Ask guests to
sign in, and watch for any reluctance to
do so. If possible, work open houses
with an assistant or another agent.

FRONT-LINE ADVICE

Here are a few more tips shared by agents themselves via RE/MAX Mainstreet, our members-only extranet:

• “Your car keys might be your best
protection when confronted with a dangerous
situation. Keep them in your hand
at all times while showing properties. If
you feel like you’re in danger, push the
panic button, setting off your car alarm.”

• “Leave your list of showings with
your front desk, another colleague and
at home with your family.”

• “I never park my car in the driveway,
because that allows the client to park
behind me, blocking a quick escape.”

• “I hold open houses almost every weekend.
My boyfriend goes with me every time and
stands around or plays on his laptop.
Safety never becomes an issue, because as
soon as someone walks in the door, I point
over and say, ‘Please don’t mind him, he’s
just my security guard!’”

BE AWARE

There’s a wealth of safety material out there. Agents can find all sorts of articles, tips and advice at the realtor.org Web site. The National Association of Realtors®’ Field Guide to Realtor®Safety, for example, is worthy reading for any practitioner. A common theme flows through almost everything I’ve seen: Be aware of your surroundings and situation at all times, and work in a way that keeps you in control.

Thus, when you’re showing a home, let your clients enter rooms ahead of you. When you’re previewing a vacant property, go with someone and be prepared for the possibility that an intruder or vagrant might be inside. When you encounter a person who somehow alarms or frightens you, trust your gut and walk away. We’re all looking for ways to maximize our business, and when we find someone seemingly interested in buying, it’s difficult to make demands of them (“Come to my office and we’ll talk
there first”).

But as a friend in law enforcement once told me, being too nice can get you hurt or killed. It’s fine to accommodate your clients and provide the service they expect, but do so on terms that let you return home safely once the job is done.