|
Realtor Safety Tips
and Products
The Stunning Ring
with a genuine onyx stone. Contains pepper spray!
Comes in Silver or Gold Plated. All sizes avail.
The
Cell Phone Stun Gun-
Looks like an
ordinary cell phone, but it is actually a
high powered stun gun.
The Pepper
Pager- Looks just like an ordinary
pager, but it contains a powerful. Sprays up to 15 feet away, giving
you time to get away.
Realtor Safety Tips
1. Always keep a charged cell phone with you at all times and at
least 2 self defense items. Tell someone at
your office you’ll call every hour, and then do it like
clockwork so that person will know right away if something is wrong.
Be prepared to use coded phrases (such as the black folder, the red file) to
seek assistance or prompt a call to 911 or your local police
emergency number.
2. Be careful of how you dress. Flashy or expensive jewelry might
attract the wrong kind of attention. Be very careful of the pictures
you post of yourself in papers and media. Unfortunately, attractive
women realtors will be harassed and are likely targets.
3. Don’t put your home phone number on your business card. Buy a
voice pager or use your cell phone for out-of-office contact.
4. Never advertise a property as vacant.
5. Always take your own car for showings. If you must take one car,
you drive. When you leave your car, lock it. Keep your car keys with you
at all times. Have a self defense product at the ready. Either in
your hand or clipped to your belt.
6. Let the potential buyers take the lead while exploring a home, with
you following behind them. Always avoid going into the
basement or confined areas with them.
7. Always have the prospects meet you at your office the first time.
Ask them for their identification. If they question you about it,
tell them it’s
the company policy.
8. Find out as much as you can about your prospects, such as where they
work and what they do. Ask lots of questions and be a good listener.
9. Know your sales area. Preview the property.
10. Trust your instincts. If you’re suspicious, it’s better to walk
away from a listing or a showing. Your suspicions are your inner
voices. Listen to them.
__________________________________________________
Realtor Safety Scenarios What Would You Do?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following scenarios are typical REALTORŪ 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 starting to set 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 just
before you left. He asks very nicely for you to let him see the property as he has wanted
to buy this style of home in this type of neighborhood for some time
now. You had very few prospects visit the open house, so you would
hate to miss this opportunity. What would you do?
Scenario #2: Listing Presentation
You receive a phone call from a man who says he is interviewing
REALTORSŪ to sell his lakeside vacation home. You can hear children
laughing in the background and he apologizes for all the racket his
kids are making. He wants to hear your listing presentation and get
your ideas about a good asking price, so he asks you to meet him at
the property this evening at 8:00. What do you do?
Scenario #3: Showing a Property
On your first day with this prospect, you showed him three homes,
and he acted like a typical buyer, asking all the expected questions
and looking carefully at each home. On this occasion, it is a cold
day and he offers to drive you since his car is already warmed up.
He mentions that he would really like to see a home with a basement
bedroom for his teenage son so he can play his music as loud as he
likes. You know a house that’s fits his needs perfectly so you take
him there to show him the nicely finished basement with recreation
room, bedroom, and full bath. What would you do?
Scenario #4: Answering Calls
You get a cold call from a prospect who says he is about to take a
new job in the area and he would like to look at some houses in a
particular neighborhood his future boss recommended. He says that
he’s open to other suggestions, and he asks where you live and what
your neighborhood is like. Because he’ll need to move quickly, he
wants to look at homes that are already vacant. After chatting about
the kind of house he is looking for, he says he’s looking forward to
working with you and asks if you’re as cute in person as your photo
in the ad. He asks, with a friendly chuckle, if you’re still “on the
market” or has a lucky guy already snapped you up. He closes by
saying he’d like to start his search at a particular house in the
ad, first thing tomorrow morning, and asks for directions so he can
meet you there. How do you respond?
Scenario 5: Going to Closings
As you are about to leave a closing, you see three men loitering in
the parking lot. When you get in your car, they also get into their
car, and they pull out behind you as you leave. How would you react?
Answers to the Safety Scenarios
Scenario 1: An Open House
Open houses can be especially dangerous
because they expose you to
strangers, often while alone, with limited opportunity to
pre-qualify the prospect or verify his identity.
Extra care should be taken at the end of the day which is when a predator may
think you are more likely to be alone. There are enough red flags
here to warrant not going back into the house with him.
Don’t let his nice clothes influence your behavior.
Try to arrange for a showing later, after a meeting at the office
where you can obtain and verify his identification. If you do
choose to let him see the house, do not follow him in—wait for him
in the doorway (or in your car) so you can easily escape if
you need to.
When he is finished looking at the property, answer any questions he has, give
him your card and a blank prospect card, and ask him to drop it off
or mail his information.
Scenario 2: The Listing Presentation
Any time you are meeting a stranger alone, whether it’s for a
showing or a listing presentation, there is a potential for danger.
Don’t make assumptions. There could be any reasons for the sound of
children; he could be calling from a pay phone in a restaurant with
a noisy play area. Sometimes violent predators do have wives and
kids at home.
First verify that he is actually the owner of the property by
checking tax logs. Try to set up a first time meeting in your office so that you can
record his information before going to the property.
Even if you decide it is safe to go, be sure that while you’re at
the property, you call in to your office regularly.
Scenario 3: Showing a Property
Don’t let the fact that he acted normally on other showings cause
you to let your guard down. Criminals may try to gain your
confidence at first as they are sizing you up.
Unless you know them personally, never ride with a client; drive
your own car and park so you can get away easily if you need to.
Park in the street, not in the driveway where you can be blocked in.
Even when the remote areas of the house are the best features,
resist the urge to lead a prospect into a basement or a back bedroom
where you can be trapped. Let them explore those areas on their own
or, at most, follow them only as far as the doorway so they cannot
block your exit.
Always have an escape route planned, and make sure exit doors are
unlocked (or even better, left open even on cold days).
Scenario 4: Answering Calls
Always avoid giving out personal information to prospects. Do not
put your home phone number on your card, and never give out your
personal address.
Be sure that your photo in your marketing materials presents a
professional image. Glamour shots can attract the wrong kind of
attention. Predators have been known to use agent photos in ads to
choose victims. What might seem like friendly banter in
a social setting can be highly inappropriate in a business
relationship. Questions about marital status should raise a red
flag. Let him know, politely, that it’s your policy to never discuss
your personal life with prospects. Make sure the
prospect is who he says he is by getting the number of his employer
so you can verify his story. Asking to see only
vacant properties is another warning sign…is he trying to make sure
you’ll be alone? Always insist that first meetings
take place in your office, and have him fill out a prospect
information form. Let him see that other people in your office know
where you are going, with whom you are going, and when you’ll be
back. Trust your instincts. If the prospect’s behavior
is too out-of-line, walk away. No commission is worth compromising
your safety. With this prospect, telling him that you are too busy
now and referring him to another colleague might be a good test of
whether he is looking for a new home or targeting you for harassment
or worse. If it becomes clear that he is not really looking for a
home, communicate your experience with him to other agents in your
area.
Scenario 5: Going to The Closing
You may have been targeted by criminals because they think you will
be carrying a large sum of money.
If you see something that makes you nervous, go back into the office
until you feel it is safe to leave, or ask to be escorted to your
car. You can check to see if someone is following you, not by racing
away, but by taking an unusual route (such as circling a block).
If it is clear that you are being followed, drive directly to a
police station.
|
