Realtors-How Prepared Are You For The Unexpected Predator Visiting Your Open House?
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She looks so happy go-lucky without a care in the world! What do you think she would do if confronted by a prospect who turns out to be a violent perpetrator??
When you schedule an Open House with your clients, do you give much thought to your personal safety? When your new construction builder asks you to work an Open House in an isolated subdivision or development, do you give much thought to what you would do if confronted or attacked by a perpetrator or predator that unexpectedly shows up at your Open House?
Many realtors work Open Houses by themselves. However, with crime on the rise against realtors – especially women - the trend may be moving towards working as teams or at least having someone else with you (a spouse or a friend) during your time at the Open House.
If you are like a lot of realtors who have had no issues or confrontations with potential perpetrators, personal safety may not be high on your priority list. If you live in a city with a very low crime rate, the tendency may be to shrug off the thought of being attacked thinking “it won’t happen to me”. This type of thinking may cause you to let your guard down leaving you vulnerable and at risk to being attacked because you didn’t recognize potential danger signs.
Whether meeting clients in their home to take a listing, showing homes to new prospects, or holding Open Houses – what can you do to stay safe on the job and make yourself less of a target to the criminal predator?
First you must be Prepared and have a Personal Safety Plan of Action! Be prepared - both mentally and physically - for the unexpected situation (and hope it will never happen). But if it does, you are now prepared and have developed a safety plan of action to know exactly what you will do if put in a dangerous, confrontational situation.
Read the 7-Point Personal Safety Plan of Action.
Remember, Stay Aware…Stay Alert…Stay Alive!
Realtor Fights Off Attacker In House - South Bend, IN
This past weekend there was an incident where a realtor (female) was attacked by her prospect. As I have written about on many occasions - it doesn’t matter that you live in a small community like South Bend, Indiana where crime may not be as prevalent as in the larger cities - but crime still happens! And these criminals are looking for the avenue of least resistance. Realtors are considered a high risk profession and they need to do everything they can to ensure that their personal safety is one of their highest priorities.
That means ensuring you have a Safety Plan that includes taking self-defense training to learn simple, yet effective defensive techniques and tactics that will enable you to protect and defend yourself against an attacker. Also, take a personal safety awareness class that reviews and reiterates many realtor safety guidelines that are designed to promote everyday awareness to keep you safe. Read more
Realtors - Become Proactive In Your Home Security & Personal Safety
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Courtesy of CA Home Security
If you’re a real estate professional, your primary job is meeting with complete strangers – showing homes, holding open houses, and even being out walking to your car late at night…all in the hopes that you secure a new client that you sell a home or property to. You’re faced with potentially risky situations almost every day. Because of the very nature of your job…..your safety should be a main priority for you.
There are crazy predators who seek out female realtors – not really caring who you are so long as you are a female. Then there are those crazies who seek out realtors who are high visibility agents. These are the million dollar agents who are on the cover of magazines, on the billboards, in the newspapers – their name is highly recognizable.
These predators see million dollar agents and assume you must be earning that full amount for yourself. There have been many realtors who have been followed to their homes by such predators and attacked in their own home. Some agents have been stalked and had their homes burglarized. Consider your safety and the safety of your home and family Priority Number 1.
First and foremost, be sure you follow all of the Safety Rules for your business:
1. Never have a first meeting with a customer at a property. Always meet customers in the office, where you can introduce them to the broker, manager or other colleagues. If you must, meet them at a public place to introduce yourself and conduct a buyer interview.
2. Leave an itinerary with the office. Let someone know what houses you will be viewing—and be sure the customer knows there is a schedule you’ll be following.
3. Carry a cell phone. Stay in contact with someone while you’re out in the field.
4. Don’t wear flashy jewelry or carry several credit cards. Carry only a small amount of cash or one credit card, and have a key ring with just your car key and lockbox key on it.
5. Use your own car. Be in control of the presentation and be the guide. If a customer wants to drive, have him or her follow you. And don’t park where you can be blocked in.
6. Always enter through the front door. If you have to use a side door, have the customers wait at the front door and let them in that way.
7. Inside the house, stay between the customer and an exit. Don’t ever walk into a room first. It’s safer and a better experience for the customer.
8. Have a secret code. Create a code word or phrase to let your colleagues know that you’re in need of help. Then, if you feel threatened, you could call your office and say, “Could you please call Mr. CODEWORD to cancel my appointment?” This let’s the office know that you need help without giving any indication to the listener.
9. Carry pepper spray if it’s legal in your area. This may be used for defense from animals, snakes or any predators and give you time to get to safety. Read more
Realtor Personal Security & Safety Awareness
Courtesy of Fox6.com
There are many professions that are considered “risky” professions, but none (other than our great soldiers) are as risky as the real estate profession. There are sales professions that I would also consider risky – such as in-home sales – but the Real Estate Profession over the last 20 years has been marked with sexual assaults, brutal physical attacks, and murders. Enough so that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has placed Realtor Safety among its’ top priorities.
Let’s consider the Real Estate Profession:
• The Real Estate Profession is made up of more than 60+% women who for the most part are trusting individuals.
• Real estate professionals are independent business agents and tend to work and meet clients alone. Many agents occasionally go into an office but primarily work from home. They come and go without others always knowing their whereabouts.
• Real Estate agents advertise in many venues – billboards, magazines, newspapers, flyers, and corner benches – and usually have their picture and phone numbers out there for everyone to see and know how to contact them.
• Many real estate agents still use “old” glamour shot photos dating back 5-10 years or more on their business cards and advertising material. Back then these photos were more on the glamorous/sexy side and are probably not the best photos to use today. Displaying a professional business photo is the type of photo to use – indicating a more professional image.
• Many realtors are very busy and have become complacent about their personal security and safety. Sometimes without giving a second thought they quickly accept an invitation to meet a prospective client without following the proper safety precautions and guidelines.
• With the real estate market so volitale – agents are taking prospects who are looking to buy a home without doing the proper background check. Follow the prescribed real estate safety guidelines before meeting with new clients. Criminals can be very savvy. They may consider this criminal activity “their” business and think that real estate agents are an easy target. While the real estate professional is trusting and thinks the prospect is a potential buyer, he on the other hand may be contemplating his next criminal move. Read more
Self-Defense and Safety Scenarios For Realtors
Safety Scenarios For Realtors - What Would You Do?
Courtesy of www.aaronline.com/forrealtors/safety/scenarios.aspx
The following scenarios are typical REALTOR® situations. Think about what would be your normal response, what possible dangers are indicated, and what you could do better to lessen the risks. Find the answers suggested by NAR at the end.
Scenario #1: Open House
You are hosting an open house by yourself on a winter day. As the sun is setting and you are locking up, a nicely dressed man pulls into the drive and quickly hops out of his car. He apologizes for coming so late and says that he is very glad to have arrived before you left. He begs you to let him see the property as he has wanted to buy this style of home in this neighborhood for some time now. You had very few prospects visit the open house, so you would hate to miss this opportunity. What do you do? Read more
Beverly Fisher, Realtor - Discusses Realtor Safety Awareness
Beverly Fisher, Realtor, Century 21 Jim Dunfee Realty
Personal Security Solutions, the parent company of Self Defense With An Attitude, along with Linda Sokol from ADT Security, recently held a Realtor Safety Awareness Seminar for Century 21 Jim Dunfee Realty in South Bend, Indiana. We discussed various safety awareness topics on how realtors can keep themselves safe while on the job, at home, on the road, and basically wherever they go.
Realtors are in a fairly high risk category just by the very nature of their job and our special guest, Beverly Fisher, Broker Associate, from Century 21 Jim Dunfee Realty, mentioned that in her testimonial video. She said, “When you are working the front desk and get a call from someone (lots of times a complete stranger) who wants to meet with you right away, the first thing you do is bolt out to meet him. And sometimes you don’t even tell anyone.” In today’s world that is not always the safest thing to do. Each real estate office should have specific forms for documenting prospective client data, addresses where the agent will be meeting the prospect, and pertinent information that might prove helpful if the agent comes up missing. Read more
Realtor Personal Safety Awareness Program
The following video gives excellent safety tips for realtors. Many of the safety tips will seem pretty obvious. But we all can become a little complacent - especially with our home and personal security. Just when we let our guard down the unexpected happens. That’s why it is a good idea to review personal safety habits that should be a part of our life… and could help save our life in dangerous situations.
On Wednesday my business associate from ADT Security and I will be giving a Realtor Personal & Home Security Safety Awareness Program to one of the largest Century 21 offices in Northern Indiana. Our program provides targeted personal safety and home security strategies that each agent can use on a daily basis. We believe that personal security starts in the home. Therefore, your home must be a safe haven whether you or family members are home or away.
Experts agree that the single most important step towards ensuring an individual’s total personal security is to make the decision to refuse to be a victim. That means you must have an overall personal safety plan or strategy in place before you need it and be able to aggressively defend yourself if attacked.
Our goal is to provide a program of personal safety and security, self-awareness, and empowerment that will enable real estate agents to protect themselves and not become a victim of an attack by a perpetrator, an unruly prospect, or customer.
We all need to make personal safety and security a proactive habit 24/7. We can then ensure we’re one step ahead of a predator who preys on defenseless women.
Remember, Stay Aware…Stay Alert…Stay Alive!
Realtor Safety At Open Houses - Tips And Safety Warnings
Next Wednesday I will be talking with a group of realtors about "Realtor Security and Safety Awareness." We will cover personal safety and self-defense techniques, personal protection products and how and when to use them, and home security issues and concerns. Personal security begins at home so it’s important that we cover good home security tactics.
Over the next week I will be posting about realtor safety concerns as well as the self-defense class I am currently taking (RAD Self-Defense).
Check out the following video and article for Realtor Safety At Open Houses: Tips and Warnings That Could Save Your Life, from DeansGuide.wordpress.com. Read more
Self-Defense For Realtors-Stay Ahead Of The Predators/Perpetrators
Unfortunately, there are a few sick people out there looking for an easy victim. What industry makes their job easy? The real estate industry for one. For the most part, real estate professionals are independent agents –predominantly women - who work alone and will jump at the opportunity to get a new prospect – especially in these crazy times.
Don’t let the lure of a new prospect or sale make you forget the safety knowledge that you already know. There were many times when I was an independent security consultant that I would get a call on short notice to meet a stranger (prospect) at a new home construction site or at the person’s home to give a security review. Mind you – I met with many single men over the past 20 years and for the most part never felt a concern for my own safety. However, when I did get that little tug in my stomach that this did not feel right – I listened and either did not go on the appointment or took someone with me. Be sure to follow your gut feelings or your inner instincts. They are usually right! Read more
Realtors: Let Someone Know Your Client’s Name and Where You Are Meeting - As A Safety Precaution.
Real Estate Safety Council
Real estate professionals – let someone know the name of the client you are meeting. You can inform the administrative person in your office, a co-worker, your spouse, best friend, or whomever. Just be sure you’ve given them the name of the person, where you are going, and the approximate time you will return. Try to give as much detail as you can about the person you are meeting with. Read more
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