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Stay Safe

Barbara Harsch

SAFETY… When I think of safety for REALTORS®, I think of physical safety while showing property or holding open houses. In real estate, we do everything our parents taught us not to do: we put strangers in our cars and we meet people in vacant houses.

I got my first car phone after being stranded in a bad neighborhood at twilight at a freeway entrance. Fortunately, I was able to walk to a service station for help. However, I bought my car phone the next day for $800. My, how things have changed!

If you pay any attention at all to your safety as a REALTOR®, you know to meet new clients at the office. If you work alone or from your house, meet a new client at the title company. REALTORS® often get into dangerous situations the same way anyone does – by not paying attention to their surroundings and by not listening to their gut. Think of the 10-second rule:

  • Two seconds when you get to your destination, to look at activity on the street and make sure you are not blocked in,
  • Two seconds after you step out of your car,
  • Two seconds as you walk toward your destination, to look for obstacles or hiding places or anyone loitering,
  • Two seconds at the door to make sure no one is following you,
  • Two seconds as you enter the destination, to see if anything seems out of place.

(Thanks to Linda Justus, Sacramento REALTOR® and former police officer, for this handy 10-second rule.)

Continue reading: Stay Safe

Safety Tips from Cop-turned-REALTOR®

Former police officer Linda Justus, a Sacramento REALTOR®, shared a number of valuable safety tips at the Industry Update on September 26. Linda was an officer in the Bay Area for 12 years, 8 as a canine officer and 1 ½ in undercover narcotics.

Linda encourages agents not to take new clients in their cars, but rather, let them follow in their own car. When you get to the property, spend time showing the outside of the home. That will allow you to get to know the client and watch for any warning signs before becoming potentially trapped inside a house. In any event, keep your attention on the client and not the house.

Warning signs: bragging about wealth or power, and being in a hurry. Call the client’s bluff, she suggested, in such circumstances, and offer to reschedule. If an agent is driving a client who acts threatening, stop! Causing a slow-speed accident will also attract a lot of attention.

Continue reading: Safety Tips from Cop-turned-REALTOR®