Personal Safety Concerns
Although you would like to feel confident about the character and good intentions of your buyer, as a real estate agent you should always be cautious when showing property and aware of potential dangers that you may encounter. Because of the very nature of showing property, you are often in a somewhat secluded place (an empty home) and are alone with individuals you do not know well.
The number of real estate agents who have been robbed, raped, and killed while showing property has grown in recent years. These dangers have forced agents who have traditionally felt comfortable dealing one-on-one with the public to become more cautious. Many offices have responded by developing a series of safety procedures to help protect its agents from harm. Even if your office does not have safety procedures in place, you can minimize your risk of attack by staying alert and following a few basic guidelines.
It's essential to have some type of verifiable information about prospects before showing properties. If you can reach them by calling a home phone number or a work number, chances are the person is not trying to be evasive about his identity. Try to get as much information about him as possible including his e-mail address, home address, cell phone number, and other identifying facts.
Fact
An agent attending a showing alone could have a partner meet her at the property. Always follow safety procedures, no matter how nonthreatening your prospect might appear.
Never meet customers whom you do not know at a property. Ask them to come to your office, where others will see them, and where someone can note their license plate number and the type of vehicle they are driving. Some real estate firms require a copy of each customer's driver's license before allowing their agents to show properties. Before you leave, give someone in your office an itinerary of the properties you will be showing and have that person call your cell phone occasionally to check on your status.
Do not allow an unknown customer to drive you to properties. You have no control over an abusive situation when you are a passenger in a car. Use your own vehicle for showings or have the customer follow you in her vehicle. If you are threatened as you drive, and instructed to change routes, don't do it! It is much easier to get away from someone in a public place than in the isolated locations where most criminals take their victims.
Alert
If you are threatened by a passenger as you drive, hit the brakes to startle your attacker. If you're on a city street, pull the passenger side door so close to another vehicle that it can't be opened, then open your door and run, making as much noise as you can to get attention.
Below are other important safety tactics.
Keep your cell phone in your pocket, with 911 and the office number programmed for speed-dial.
Devise a code word or phrase that everyone in the office recognizes as a plea for help.
Carry pepper spray or mace with you at all times.
Do not work an open house by yourself.
Pay attention to floor plans — know your exits.
Do not show properties to unknown prospects after dark.
Trust your instincts. If a situation doesn't feel right, ask your broker-in-charge or another agent to accompany you on the showing. You'll all feel much safer and more confident when you work together to ensure each other's well-being.
