It's far too easy to become so immersed
in the daily rush to get sales, closings and listings that we forget to take simple steps to ensure our own safety.
Remember that your own health and safety are far more important
than all the closings in the world.
Market Yourself Professionally
Avoid glamour shots in your marketing
material. Criminals chose their victims through their appearance in advertisements.
Concentrate on your professional proficiency
rather than personal information in newspapers and résumés.
Limit the amount of personal information
you share. Don’t list your home phone number on your business card. Use your cell phone number or voice pager. Publish only your
office address; never give out your home address.
Be careful of how much personal information
you share verbally as well. “Getting to know your client” should
not mean sharing details of your personal life. Be guarded with what you say
about yourself or your family.
Make sure your marketing materials and
your clothing are polished but professional. Select clothes that are comfortable
and shoes that allow you to run. Avoid wearing expensive jewelry.
Know Who You're Dealing With
Always have prospects meet you at your
office the first time. Ask them to show identification. Make it a requirement and company policy.
Find out as much as you can about prospects,
such as where they work, what they do, and how much they earn. Ask a lot of questions
and be a good listener. Have them complete a personal identification form before
going to properties. Try to have them do this in the presence of an associate. Since would-be assailants don’t like to be noticed, be sure to introduce prospects
to your colleagues.
Verify their identities. Ask for several forms of identification and cross-check them. Photocopy
the party’s driver’s license and record car models. This can help
police catch a criminal or find you if you’re abducted. Inform prospects
that your firm’s safety policies require that you keep the information on file, which could discourage assailants. Legitimate clients probably won’t mind you copying their driver’s licenses.
Customers freely show identification to grocery store or movie rental clerks. They should be willing to identify themselves
to REALTORS® who show homes worth hundreds of thousands
of dollars and who need to be concerned for the safety of their clients as well as themselves.
Get an employer’s name and call
to confirm employment and call references. It’s tempting to start showing
homes right away to walk-ins, but it’s better if you get information and make an appointment for the following day so
that you have time to fact check.
Identify sellers also. Check county property records to confirm the ownership of property before you go to a listing appointment
or approach a FSBO. The more information you have, the easier and quicker it
is for police to catch a perpetrator if you become a crime victim.
Tell Someone
Let your office know where you are at
all times. Tell someone where you're going, which client you’re going
with, and when you'll return. Try to let the client know you’ve shared
this information. Criminals are less likely to attack if they know they can be
identified and the victim might quickly be missed. Complete an office registry
book or an Office Itinerary Form, preferably in front of the client. If anything
does happen to you, the information can help police find you.
Stay Connected
Carry a cell phone. Arrange to call your office at a specific time and do it. No
excuses.
Know in advance whom you will call if
your instincts tell you to get help, if a client makes you feel endangered, or if you need help at a listing or open house. Program emergency numbers into your speed dial, including 911, emergency road service,
your office and a buddy. If you find yourself in an emergency situation and need
to dial 911, do not hang up. Keep the line open so that the police can trace
the call.
Keep your cell phone at your side. Clip it to your clothes, or buy a carrying case with a shoulder strap. If you keep
your phone in your purse or briefcase, you might not be able to get to it when you need it most. Always keep your cell phone fully charged. Keep a charger
that works from your car’s cigarette lighter in the vehicle at all times, and use it whenever you’ve started to
deplete the phone’s battery.
Create a Distress Code
Agree on a prearranged code word
you can use if you sense you're in a dangerous situation. For instance, set up
a signal using a unique word, street or client name that signifies danger. If
you’re at a listing with a prospect who is making you feel uneasy, call the office and say, “I’m at the
Richardson listing, could you please pull the RED FILE and have it ready for me after I finish showing the JONES house?”
Share your distress signal with all your
colleagues and your family and friends. Brokers can ensure that everyone in the
office knows the signals and understands the steps to take when they hear them. Whoever
receives the emergency code word should send help immediately and remove the agent from the situation.
Don’t get caught off guard at open
houses or listing presentations. Prepare a scenario so that you can leave or
encourage the person making you uncomfortable to leave. Some ideas: Your beeper
went off, and you have to call your office; you left some information in your car you need to get; mention that you’re
expecting another salesperson with buyers in a few minutes.
Use the Buddy System
Take someone with you to open houses, listing
appointments, and showings.
If you work with other colleagues, choose at
least one “buddy” with whom you share information. At the very least,
make sure your buddy knows where you are. Set up a check-in system and phone
in regularly. Develop acting skills so that you can pretend to be speaking on
the phone when a prospect walks in. “I’m at the open house on Main
Street, so bring the paperwork here as soon as you can. OK, I’ll see you
in a few minutes. ” If you work alone, establish your buddy in your family,
or hire an answering service. Even leaving a note on your desk or completing
an itinerary form could help authorities find you in an emergency.
Be Safe At Listings
Never advertise a listing as vacant.
This is an open invitation to criminals.
Never show property alone at night. Know the sales area. Preview the property.
Use separate cars to travel to listings. Don’t feel obligated to act as a chauffeur.
Tell the client that you need to go to another appointment immediately after the showing, and ask him to follow you
in his own car. In no case should you ever ride in the prospect’s car. The prospect could have a weapon concealed or even another person hidden within their
car.
When you arrive, park in a well
lit area on the street instead of in the driveway to avoid being blocked in case you need to make a quick getaway. Check out your surroundings while you park, get out of the car and walk to the property, being alert to
suspicious activities. Does everything seem normal, or is there questionable
activity? Are there any suspicious people around?
Is anyone loitering nearby? Do you know exactly where you’re going? Is there normal activity, or are things unusually quiet? Any hazards in the parking lot or street?
Don’t get greedy. It’s better to walk away from a listing or not show a house if you have an uneasy feeling. If a buyer wants to see houses in an area you perceive as unsafe, don’t go.
At the door, take a few seconds to scan
the house before you enter, making sure nothing looks suspicious or out of place. Do
things look normal? Are you comfortable walking in? Is somebody following you in? As you enter—is anything
inside out of place? Is there anybody there who shouldn’t be? Do you feel uneasy? Security experts advise that you always
trust your instincts. By paying attention to your surroundings, you’ll
have the opportunity to see potential danger and avoid it.
Have the client enter the home first. Let potential buyers explore a home on their own, with you following behind.
While inside the home, always keep the prospects in front of you. Let them lead the way into rooms, and always stay between the client and the room’s doorway.
Make an effort to stay out of attics, basements, walk-in closets or other confined areas with a prospect.
Be aware of the client’s behavior,
watching for strange behavior such as nervousness, dilated pupils or inappropriate
laughter or speech. Be alert to any strange activity the client might display,
such as a preoccupation with valuable objects or checking out doors, locks and alarm systems.
Have a Safe Open House
Don’t hold an open house alone, have someone
from your office, a relative or friend stay with you. Use a cellular phone if
you must sit at a property that doesn’t have a phone. Call your office
every hour. Notify someone in your office, your answering service, a friend or
a relative that you will be calling in every hour on the hour. And if you don’t
call, they are to notify the police immediately.
Arrive early.
Before you post the yard signs, survey all exits to map out escape routes throughout the house. Unlock deadbolts for a faster escape. Doublecheck the yard
and fences to make sure you won’t inadvertently be trapped if you flee from the house.
Take a few moments to refamiliarize yourself
with the home’s features. When strangers later enter, you need to be able to focus on them and not become preoccupied
with things like finding light switches or linen closets.
Try to take the time to introduce yourself to
the neighbors and notify them of the open house. Although you can make this a
simple courtesy call, the knowledge of the open house might make neighbors more alert to unusual sounds, and you could have
a place to run to if necessary.
Before you open the home, write the date and
time on the back of one of your business cards and place it in a kitchen cupboard. Note
on it if you were the first to arrive or if clients were waiting. Purchase open
house registers or use a simple blank ledger or notebook. So that visitors don’t
feel put upon, consider displaying a small sign or flyer asking them to sign in for the safety of the homeowner and the agent. Try to keep your own list of visitors’ descriptions and car descriptions with
license numbers.
When showing the house, always walk behind the
prospect. Direct them, don’t lead them.
Say, for example, “the kitchen is on your left,” and gesture for them to go ahead of you. Watch what the prospects are doing at all times. Do not become
preoccupied with viewing the home.
Don’t leave your own briefcase, purse, laptop or cell phone in
view. (You should have that phone on your person at all times anyway). Wear clothing
with pockets so that you can always have your car keys with you as well. Never
carry large amounts of cash.
Be alert to comings and goings, especially near the end of the day, when
predators might assume you are tired or more vulnerable. Authorities report that
groups of criminals target open houses, showing up near the end of the afternoon. While
several “clients” distract the REALTOR®,
others go through the house and steal anything they can quickly.
Help Your Clients Safeguard Themselves
Remind sellers that strangers will be in their home. Tell them to put
valuables in a safe, secure place. Ask them to consider items they might not
initially think would attract interest. Police have reported that individuals
go through medicine cabinets at open houses and steal the owners’ prescription drugs.
Suggest that they hide any such items.
When you leave make sure that all doors and windows are secured. Authorities report that thieves commonly use open houses to scout for valuables and
easy entrance routes, then return when the agent leaves.
Inform your clients that while you are taking safety precautions, and
that you’ve checked and locked the home before leaving, they should immediately doublecheck all locks and scout for
missing items immediately upon their return, in case you’ve missed any less-than-obvious means of entry.
Working From Home
Many real estate professionals do much, and sometimes all, of their work
from home offices. You might want to consider additional security steps, above
and beyond those that the typical homeowner might take. Consider investing in
an alarm system if you don’t already have one. If you do, make sure you
have a panic button feature you can easily use in the office portion of your home.
Even when you’re using a regular telephone in your home office,
also keep a fully charged cell phone with you, just in case. Program your safety
phone numbers onto your office line as well as your cell phone. Keep a printout
of emergency numbers at your desk.
Install a deadbolt lock on your office door, as well as on your exterior
doors, so that you can lock yourself in while you call for help. If you work
on the second floor of your home, buy a fold-away ladder in case you need to escape from a window.
Observe ordinary, common-sense safety measures such as having good locks
on doors and windows, adequate outdoor lighting, motion sensors and an adequate supply of flashlights and batteries.
Personal Safeguards
Consider taking a personal safety course. Convince your buddy to do it
with you.
Even if you learn self-defense techniques, experts agree that no matter
how competent you believe you might be in fighting back, the best recourse is to flee.
Run toward an open business or someplace you know you will find other people.
Police departments advise that if you are attacked, scream loudly and
keep screaming. Studies have shown that yelling the word “Fire” attracts a quicker response than yelling “Help.” If you carry a warning siren or whistle, keep screaming until you can use the device.
Police and security experts almost universally agree that you should
never carry a weapon such as a knife, club or gun. Statistics show that you,
rather than the assailant, are more likely to be hurt with such weapons.
Although some state laws no longer require civilians to have a permit
to carry pepper spray, authorities have mixed opinions on carrying it. Some Police
Departments advise against it because an assailant could easily use it to incapacitate you.
On the other hand, some are strong advocates of pepper spray and say that simply holding it up and pointing it at an
assailant while yelling, “I have pepper spray!” can be enough to deter an assault.
If you’re accosted in a parking lot and forced to drive, don’t
leave the area. One suggestion: If
you’re in a crowded area, run your vehicle into another one or into something else, such as a building or a tree. You’ll attract attention, and that’s the last thing a perpetrator wants. If you’re confronted at your car, throw your car key in one direction and run
screaming in the opposite direction. For this reason, Cline says, keep your car
key separate from your other keys.
If all precautions fail and you become a victim of a crime, report it
to the police immediately. Try to remember as many details as possible, and share
all of them, no matter how insignificant you might think they are.
Listen to Your Gut
Intuition can be your best friend.
If you feel apprehensive, don’t ignore those feelings.
Safety experts agree that it’s best to assume your instincts are
right and to take necessary precautions. Don’t be so anxious to make a
sale that you ignore your intuition. To your friends, family and colleagues,
your life is far more important than your sales figures.
