Tuesday, 12/02/08 3:08 PM
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Tuesday, 12/02/08 3:08 PM |
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News & Information : In Contract Magazine : Past Issues : July/August 2002 - Realtor Safety July/August 2002 - Realtor Safety
Alert • 21 real estate professionals were murdered while on the job in the United States in 2000. These are alarming statistics, and illustrate the importance of taking safety precautions in your work. The very nature of showing real estate can be risky, for both men and women. You can reduce your exposure to assault by following some common sense safety tips compiled from crime victims and other real estate associations from across the country. Alert: Central Ohio law enforcement agency is currently investigating potentially criminal activity in our area. Here are the facts you need... A couple is attending open houses as well as contacting REALTORS® to set up showings of homes in the $500,000 - $1,000,000 price range in the northwest area of Columbus (including Delaware, Union and Franklin counties). Although it may seem apparent that this couple cannot afford that price range, they maintain that they have received an inheritance. The couple is residing at a motel. The concern is that this couple is casing homes for future burglary. Please exercise extra caution in your practice. In working with a new buyer, be sure to ask those important questions which can confirm their identity, qualifications and intent. If you are hosting an open house, consider having another agent with you to help keep an eye on buyer traffic. Also, as this is under current investigation, exercise discretion in your dealings with potential buyers. Investigators don't want to alert this couple before action can be taken.
1. Reach out and touch someone. Carry a cell phone. Program your cell phone so that the police emergency number is on speed dial. 2. Overexposed? The more exposure you have, the greater your risk. In this business exposure is a way of getting business. Concentrate on your professional proficiency rather than personal information in newspapers and resumes. 3. The great escape. Don't get caught off guard at open houses or listing presentations. Prepare a scenario so that you can leave or encourage the person making you uncomfortable to leave. Some ideas: Your beeper went off, and you have to call your office; you left some information in your car you need to get; mention that you're expecting another salesperson with buyers in a few minutes. 4. Demolition derby. If you're accosted in a parking lot and forced to drive, don't leave the area. One suggestion: If you're in a crowded area, run your vehicle into another one or into something else, such as a building or a tree. You'll attract attention, and that's the last thing a perpetrator wants. If you're confronted at your car, throw your car key in one direction and run screaming in the opposite direction. For this reason, keep your car key separate from your other keys. 5. Identify buyers. Make a copy of the party's driver's license and write down a car license if you can. Get an employer's name and call to confirm employment. It's tempting to start showing homes right away to walk-ins, but it's better if you get information and make an appointment for the following day so that you have time to fact check. 6. Identify sellers. Check county property records to confirm the ownership of property before you go to a listing appointment or approach a FSBO. The more information you have, the easier and quicker it is for police to catch a perpetrator if you become a crime victim. 7. Appointment with destiny. Know the sales area. Preview the property. Meet the buyers at your office, where they can be seen by your co-workers. Then travel separately to the property: Don't feel obligated to act as a chauffeur. 8. Don't get greedy. It's better to walk away from a listing or not show a house if you have an uneasy feeling. 9. Phone home. Let your office know where you are at all times. Arrange to call your office at a specific time and do it. No excuses. 10. A friend in need. Take someone with you to open houses, listing appointments, and showings. 11. The eyes of the beholder. If a buyer wants to see houses in an area you perceive as unsafe, don't go. 12. Be prepared. Carry pepper spray on your key ring and in your car and know how to use it. Take a personal safety course. 13. Beware of the blues. If you are approached by a vehicle with blue lights at night. Call 911 to identify the vehicle, turn on your flashers to acknowledge that you see the police car, and keep moving until you're in a well-lit area. A legitimate law enforcement official will understand your caution. Self Defense by a REALTOR® for REALTORS® As a real estate broker and more importantly a Martial Arts instructor, I hear it all the time, “I live and work in a good neighborhood, and I don't have to worry about self defense”. Tell that to the REALTOR® in Decatur, Illinois, who was strangled while showing a vacant property alone. In Sacramento, California, Sandra Tafoya disappeared after an appointment to show a home. Her bullet-riddled body was found in the trunk of her car five days after her family reported her missing. Statistics don't lie and here are four quick ones. According to local law enforcement officials, as of this writing, REALTORS® are being stalked by a “Buyer” in the Cape May area, who expresses an interest in expensive, vacant property in secluded areas. How do agents protect themselves from a known risk or the even more insidious unknown risk? What's the answer? To get started, I recommend that you consider three approaches: Many groups including the Women's Council of REALTORS cover proper office procedure®. These steps include basic safety methods and strategies. You are a trained sales person and work with people constantly. Use your instincts and intuition. If you're getting a funny feeling about the client, you are probably correct. If that cash buyer is too good to be true . . . You could be right!! Don't take any chances. If you are by yourself, open the property and let the customers enter to “discover” the property on their own. If you do enter the property, stay in the foyer near the door. Never let the person between you and the door so you can exit if things get sticky. Remember...Run First...Fight Last. Avoidance is the key to self-defense. Never go into the basement. Never go into that back rear bedroom. Tell the office who you are with and where you are going! Have your office on the speed dial of your cell phone and have a code word to alert people that you are in trouble. When you attend open houses check your cell phone ‘s signal strength meter. If you're going to be showing a home, you need to find out if it's in an area that has weak of no signal strength. Pre-arrange a call-in system with your office. Have them call you at prearranged intervals. Tell them the document is in the green folder is everything is O.K. Create secret codes for emergency situations. Carry an extra, fully charged cell phone battery. And last, but not least, basic self defense. For hundreds of years the ancient masters studied the human anatomy for healing purposes. They took this knowledge and reversed their thinking, using what they learned to attack the body. Therefore, Martial Arts is easy. Use the hard part of your body to strike the soft part of their body. Stomp on their foot with the heel of your foot, kick to the shin or groin, poke to the eye with your finger, pull the hair, and RUN!! Don't stand and fight. Get away, make a lot of noise...scream “fire”, and everyone becomes involved. If they grab your coat or pocketbook, let them have it. If they want the car, the cell phones, or the camera let them have it. Things can be replaced. Your life can't. People talk about carrying weapons, which is a discussion in itself, but remember the gun you carry will probably be used against you, and you have to carry it all the time. With Martial Arts your body is the weapon. If you need additional help, remember anything can be a weapon. The pen in your pocket is for poking. A camera, a laptop computer or an attaché case is great for throwing or striking. Remember, the best self-defense is to be aware. Don't put yourself in harm's way. We don't want you to be a statistic...just a successful REALTOR®. REALTOR® Bob McCann is a broker in Cape May County and has taught Martial Arts for 20 years. He has been a presenter at the NJAR Trade Show and Expo on two occasions and at numerous board and association functions. E-mail: rj@monihan.com. California Realtor® threatened in May, 2002 The suspect was staying at a well known hotel. He called the agent pretending to be a prospective client relocating to San Diego from Mississippi. He asked her to pick him up at the hotel and show him some property on the water. The agent picked him up from the hotel and drove him to view a listed house. The suspect then threatened the agent with a knife, took the agent's keys and stole the car. Police have arrested the suspect and charged him with kidnapping, carjacking and auto theft. When arrested, the suspect had a list of six other agents names. Please exercise caution in your daily business! Top 3 Safety Tips 1. Identify the person you are working with before you join him/her alone, in a car or a house. Copy his/her driver's license! 3. Trust your instincts. Please exercise caution in your daily business! Know Who you are dealing with Ask THE Prospect to Stop by your office VERIFY THEIR IDENTITY Get their car make and license number INTRODUCE THE PROSPECT TO SOMEONE IN YOUR OFFICE PHOTOCOPY OR SCAN THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSE Please exercise caution in your daily business! Safety Tips 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 out of a lineup. USE AN EMERGENCY CODE WORD. If you sense you are in a dangerous situation, call an associate or the office with a preassigned emergency codeword; e.g. “We are on MAYDAY street” or “Look in the RED FILE.” Whoever receives the emergency code word should send help immediately and remove the agent from the situation. USE YOUR OWN CAR to show a property. The prospect could have a weapon concealed or even another person hidden within his car. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDS that you do not try to talk your way out of a situation. If you are attacked, scream. It has been found that by screaming “FIRE” people sometimes respond more quickly than a plea for “HELP.” CALL THE POLICE WHEN: SAFEGUARD YOUR OFFICE Please exercise caution in your daily business! Open House Precautions • Make sure all deadbolt locks are unlocked to facilitate a faster escape. • Make sure if you were to escape by back door, that you could escape from the backyard. Frequently, high fences surround yards that contain swimming pools or hot tubs. • Place one of your business cards, with the date and time on the back, in a kitchen cupboard. Note on it if you were the first to arrive or if clients were waiting. • When prospects begin to arrive, jot down their car description, license number and physical description. • When showing the house, always walk behind the prospect. Direct them, don't lead them. Say, for example, “the kitchen is on your left,” and gesture for them to go ahead of you. • Watch what the prospects are doing at all times. Do not become preoccupied with viewing the home. • Notify someone in your office, your answering service, a friend or a relative that you will be calling in every hour on the hour. And if you don't call, they are to notify the police immediately. • Inform a neighbor that you will be showing the house and ask if he would keep an ear open for any thing out of the ordinary. • Have someone from your office, a relative or friend stay with you. Please exercise caution in your daily business! Links to miscellaneous safety related information Search ‘Safety' on these sites Safety Sites Miscellaneous articles on Safety Fight or Flight Open House Tips Please exercise caution in your daily business!
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