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 Barbara Harsch  Tuesday, September 7th, 2010  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
Charles McMillan Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
If you’re like most REALTORS®, you put a great deal of thought and effort into your marketing materials, including advertisements, signs and business cards. You want to make every dollar count—but how much consideration do you give to the safety afforded by these communications? How much information are you giving the public that many [...]
Janelle Fallan Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
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®
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and this organization have worked hard to keep REALTOR® Safety foremost in everyone’s minds. But what about your clients? They, too, face some dangers in allowing strangers into their homes or visiting other people’s properties.
Share this valuable advice with everyone, and you’ll help them learn to protect themselves against crime:
- Remind sellers that strangers will be walking through their home during showings or open houses. Tell them to hide any valuables in a safe place, including prescription medications and alcohol, as well as personal information such as bank statements that could be used for identity theft.
- Warn your clients that not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Strangers who stop by a listing unannounced should be asked to make an appointment with the listing agent. Stress that your clients should never to show a home without an agent present.
- Inform your clients that they are responsible for their pets. If possible, animals should be removed during showings. Make clients aware that buyers and agents are sometimes attacked, and the owner will be held liable.
Continue reading: Clients Need Safety Tips, Too!
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Consider these tips in preparing or updating the information you use to get business:
- All of your marketing materials should be polished and professional. Don’t use alluring
or provocative photography in advertising, on the Web or on your business cards. There
are many documented cases of criminals actually circling photographs of their would-be
victims in newspaper advertisements. These victims were targeted because of their appearance
in the photograph.
- Limit the amount of personal information you share. Don’t use your full name with middle
name or initial. Use your office address rather than your home address—or list no address
at all. Giving out too much of the wrong information can make you a target.
- Concentrate on your professional proficiency rather than personal information in newspapers,
resumes and business cards.
- Be careful how much personal information you give verbally as well. Getting to know
your client does not need to include personal information about your children, where you
live and who you live with.
- All agents in your office should use only their first initial and last name on their “For Sale”
signs to conceal gender and prevent anyone other than a personal acquaintance or current
client asking for you by name.
Continue reading: Protect Yourself with Smart Marketing Materials
Charles McMillan Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
How, when and where you meet a client for the first time is a crucial turning point in ensuring your personal safety. For example, you should never, ever meet someone for the first time at a property—this leaves you vulnerable. Instead, take these 10 easy steps to help empower you:
- Make sure you are not alone in the office when meeting someone. If you are alone, call a friend or colleague before the client is due to arrive and ask them to call and check on you 15 minutes into the visit. Then call them back when the person has left your office.
- Ask every prospect or new client to stop by your office to complete a Prospect Identification Form (an example of this form is online at www.REALTOR.org/Safety), preferably in the presence of an associate.
- Use a registration book for all clients and other visitors. Be careful to make sure that everyone signs in.
- Introduce the prospect to someone in your office. A would-be assailant does not like to be noticed or receive exposure, knowing a person could pick him/her out of a police lineup.
- Get the client’s car make and license number. Check this information yourself—don’t just take their word for it. You can do this discreetly by watching them drive up, glancing out at their car, or checking it when you leave the office.
Continue reading: Your First Safety Step: Meeting a New Client
Charles McMillan Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Knowledge. Awareness. Empowerment. These are the core components of REALTOR® Safety. And helping our members understand the risks they face can mean the difference between life and death.
As part of NAR’s ongoing efforts to keep our members safe, we’re kicking off a year long focus on this issue of safety with the 6th annual observance of REALTOR® Safety Week, September 13-19, 2009. But this is just the start of our commitment to empowering our members.
Make Safety a Year-Round Priority
REALTOR® Safety Week is a great time to remind all of us to know the dangers we face everyday, to be aware of our surroundings, and empower ourselves with precautions and preparations so that we can avoid risky situations. I am asking Associations and brokers to make this a year-round commitment. To help, we’ve revamped the REALTOR® Safety Resources Kit and have planned a variety of refreshers for the coming year, including:
Continue reading: Promote the Keys to REALTOR® Safety: Knowledge, Awareness and Empowerment
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