Safety: Florida REALTOR® fights off attacker

On March 14, 2006, a Florida REALTOR® fought back against her attacker after she was hit over the head several times with a hammer while showing a house.

Janice Flasschoen, 56, a REALTOR® for Realty Xperts in Port Orange, Fla., who is recovering from the attack, required stitches and suffered cuts and bruises.

Balazs Kris Gombos, 30, a convicted felon from South Daytona, Fla., had arranged to meet Flasschoen on Monday to look at a house for sale in South Daytona.

Flasschoen reported spending about 30 minutes showing the man around the onestory, three-bedroom concrete block home before he asked her about an electric outlet that was missing a face plate in one of the bedrooms.

He told her that he was worried his daughter might electrocute herself. When Flasschoen knelt down to take a look at the outlet, Gombos allegedly pulled out a hammer and struck her twice in the back of the head.

Never collapsing from the two blows, Flasschoen ran out of the room. But he blocked her path to the front door, pulling out a gun and ordering her back in the bedroom.

She said Gombos told her: "I want your money. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

Flasschoen had received some self-defense training through a class offered by a local REALTOR® association. The training came back to her, and she kicked the man in the groin and kept kicking.

"I was angry," she said. "I was terrified. I just kept kicking."

He threw away the gun and dropped the hammer. She reached for it and he ran outside. Chasing after him, she struck him twice in the back, and he tumbled to the ground; nearby construction workers held him until police arrived.

Police officers arrested Gombos of South Daytona and found two knives, pepper spray, handcuffs, along with the hammer and the gun, which turned out to be a pellet gun. Gombos was charged with robbery and aggravated assault.

"It's a dangerous occupation," said Lt. Ron Wright, police spokesman. "The REALTOR® never knows who they're meeting."

According to the National Institute for Occupation for Safety and Health, real estate professionals are in the middle range of small businesses affected by violent crimes. NIOSH statistics show 227 real estate agents were killed on the job between 1990 and 2001. In addition, an average of 126 violent acts per year (rape, assault and robbery) are committed against real estate professionals.

Please exercise caution in your daily business.

10 Safety Tips for Showing Property
Follow these 10 tips to minimize your risks while showing property.

1. Instead of meeting new clients at the property, ask them to stop by your office and complete a Prospect
    Identification Form. Gather information on each, including their car's make and license number, a copy of
    their driver's license and references.
2. While the client is in the office, introduce them to one or more of your colleagues. A would-be assailant
    does not like to be noticed, knowing a person could pick him or her out of a police lineup.
3. Always let a colleague, friend or family member know where you are going and when you expect to return.
   Give that person the name and phone number of the client you are meeting.
4. Try and call the office once an hour to let people know where you are.
5. Establish a voice distress code, a secret word or phrase that is not commonly used but can be worked into 
   any conversation for cases where you feel that you are in danger. Use this if the person you are with can
   overhear the conversation, but you don't want to alarm them. The distress code could be something as
   simple as "Hi, this is Jane. I'm at [address]. Could you e-mail me the red file?" The distress code should be
   used if you are uneasy, but do not feel you are in danger. If you are in immediate danger?stop the car and
   leave the area, or jump out of the car at the next stop. Do not hesitate to call 911.
6. Preview the property and don't go into a neighborhood that you perceive as unsafe. Be familiar with the area
   so you know the location of the nearest police station. Drive there immediately if you feel you are in danger.
7. Carry only non-valuable business items (except for your cell phone), and do not wear expensive jewelry of
    watches, or appear to be carrying large sums of money. Lock your purse in your car trunk before you arrive.
8. Park at the curb in front of the property rather than in the driveway. You will attract much more attention
    running and screaming to the curb area. It is much easier to escape in your vehicle if you don't have to  
    back out of a driveway. Besides, parked in a driveway, another vehicle could purposefully or accidentally
    trap you.
9. In showing a property, always leave the front door open wide while you and the client are inside. As you
    enter each room, stand near the door.
10. When you show a home, always let the prospect walk ahead of you. Direct them; don't lead them. Say,
     for example, "The kitchen is on your left," and gesture for them to go ahead of you.