While real estate sales can be an exciting, even glamorous job, it can also be dangerous. An agent is often alone in an empty house with prospective buyers; sometimes those houses are isolated or remote. And yet if last year’s NAR member safety report is an accurate summary of the industry, very few agents are taking basic precautions to protect themselves.
“I want people to be proactive, not paranoid,” said Realtor Safety Training Expert Tracey Hawkins, of Kansas City, Missouri. “I tell them, ‘Your job description is to meet strangers in empty houses.’ I teach them how to avoid dangerous situations and how to get out of them if they can. My goal is to give agents the tools they need to stay safe in realistic situation.”
The 2016 National Association of Realtors (NAR) member safety report, based on a survey of 58,077 Realtors with 3,091 responses, found 39 percent of Realtors experienced a situation where they feared for their personal safety or the safety of their personal information. Four percent of respondents reported being the victim of a crime while working.
Though smartphones are nearly ubiquitous, only 42 percent of respondents use a safety app to track their whereabouts and alert family and colleagues if there’s trouble. Only 19 percent of respondents had taken Realtor safety training.
Most agents aren’t prepared because while they are aware of the potential for danger, they think it will never happen to them, Hawkins said.
Highly publicized crimes against real estate agents like the 2014 kidnapping and murder of Arkansas real estate agent Beverly Carter brought safety concerns to the top of real estate agents’ agenda for a while, but complacency slowly creeps in and agents forget to take basic safety precautions when meeting strangers alone at showings, Hawkins said.
“Beverly Carter was a wake-up call across the country,” she said. “Agents are victimized on a daily basis and we’ll never hear many of those stories. What Beverly Carter did, every agent has done. She was successful. She worked in a safe area. Since then, there have been many other crimes against agents. It happens to male agents as well. Safety is still an issue and complacency is still an issue.”
Check The Mighty Google
Herself a former real estate agent, Hawkins said the best thing agents can do to protect themselves and their clients is to do their homework by checking prospects out on sites like Google, Anywho.com and Spokeo.com – and most importantly, to trust their instincts.
“Beverly Carter told a colleague she had a bad feeling,” she said. “Her attacker said he chose her because she was rich and worked alone.”
At the same time though Hawkins cautions agents not to discriminate against prospective clients because of how they look; it’s not a reliable indicator of character or safety, and it could be illegal.
“Everyone has their own idea of what criminals look like,” she said. “We need to be concerned about every person. Don’t judge people by their appearance; that could cost you business or it could cost you your life. Trust your gut. Humans are the only animals who ignore their intuition. If you get the feeling something is wrong, it probably is. Safety must come first.”
If prospects don’t or can’t answer routine questions over the phone, agents should be willing to walk away, she said. She also recommends meeting prospective new clients in the office or a public place before taking them to showings. They should also provide identification and a mortgage pre-approval letter, which helps illustrate legitimacy.
A person is a lot less apt to commit a crime if you ask them for a photo ID so you can copy it and leave it in the office before you go to a showing, said Lt. Bruce Apotheker, community services bureau commander at the Newton Police Department.
“Agents should absolutely meet new clients at the office before taking them out and showing them properties,” he said. “Get them on your territory. Tell them it’s company policy that you have to photocopy their ID and keep a copy. Also, agents should always have another agent or an assistant with them at an open house. And they can ask for a photo ID at the open house too.”
Homework Isn’t Always Enough
More than half of respondents to the NAR survey – 53 percent – reported carrying a weapon while working.
“Agents can work safely without a weapon,” Hawkins said. “But some people want a backup, a safety tool. About 17 percent of agents like pepper spray. They need to know the law, and they need to be trained how to use it effectively. Some agents like to talk about stun guns and Tasers, too.”
Apotheker stressed the importance of regular training for anyone carrying a weapon.
“Many police departments sponsor self-defense classes,” he said. “District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office also offers training for real estate agents.”
Apotheker also recommends that agents avoid wearing expensive jewelry that might attract the attention of a criminal, and always wear shoes they can run in.
More Than Just Personal Safety
Real estate agents should be concerned with more than just their own physical safety and that of their clients. Increasingly, agents have to be concerned with protecting their client’s belongings and especially their financial information.
Both Hawkins and Apotheker advise agents to train their sellers to keep valuables and prescription drugs hidden or stored elsewhere during showings.
Hawkins said cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to steal people’s money. The FBI reported that cybercriminals stole more than $16 million from consumers. Hawkins said every real estate agent should get regular cybercrime defense training to try to protect their business and their clients.
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors’ Safety Checklist can be found here.
