As September’s Realtor Safety Awareness month came to a close, we learned that Beverly Carter, a Realtor in Little Rock, Ark., was found dead. Beverly was doing what all Realtors do – showing property and helping consumers achieve the American dream of home ownership. And she was kidnapped and murdered.
Unfortunately, Beverly’s story is not uncommon to our industry. Every year, real estate professionals are attacked while on the job – sitting in model homes, hosting open houses, and even working in their own offices.
Security experts consider real estate to be a high-risk profession. Realtors often meet alone with strangers, many times at vacant properties and outside traditional working hours. Thus, it’s not uncommon that real estate professionals are vulnerable to predators. Yet, Realtors might overlook routine safety protocols. And when precautions are taken, consumers don’t always understand or appreciate why certain steps are necessary.
While mutual friends and relatives regularly refer sellers and buyers to Realtors, many times, it’s a stranger who contacts the Realtor from a yard sign, print, or online ad. In marketing themselves, Realtor frequently refer to their production or sales volume. However, Realtor are not “rich brokers,” which is exactly how a recent predator described his victim.
According the National Association of Realtors’ 2014 Member Profile, the typical agent had a sales volume of $1.8 million in 2013; however, the median gross income of Realtors for the same period was $47,700. This difference is huge and often misunderstood by consumers.
Safety is an easy conversation for us when discussing with a seller what steps they can take to safeguard against theft while their home is listed. Valuables and prescription drugs make open houses and property showing targets for thieves and addicts. Yet, the safety talk becomes awkward when Realtors explain why they might not hold many, if any, open houses for the seller. Not only do open houses typically not get the home sold, open houses make the home and the hosting agent vulnerable to danger. Sellers should consider other methods, such as virtual tours, for “showing” the home to prospective buyers.
It’s not just sellers who need to be aware of safety precautions; buyers must understand why Realtors take certain precautions when showing property, especially to unknown persons. It is impossible for Realtors to have a personal connection to every person with whom we work. While some buyers might balk at our refusal to meet with them alone and/or your insistence on photocopying their driver’s license or other identification, we do this for safety reasons.
And let’s not overlook listing appointments and homes for sale that are not listed with a real estate licensee. These scenarios are ones in which to be cautious, too. Realtors do not always know the potential seller who asks them to come make a listing presentation. The same precautions should be taken as when meeting with an unknown buyer and showing property.
Safety is something we should focus on all the time, not only during September’s Realtor Safety Month. We want so badly to accommodate our clients and help them find their dream home that, at times, we’re too trusting and let down our guard. I cannot urge each of you enough to follow safety precautions every day when meeting with clients and customers. And I urge consumers to be open and understanding of your Realtor’s need to take necessary precautions. No real estate transaction is worth risking a life.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors is “The Voice of Real Estate in Greater Chattanooga.” The Association is a regional organization with more than 1,400 members, and is one of more than 1,400 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors services Hamilton and Sequatchie counties in southeast Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in northwest Georgia. For more information, visit www.gcar.net..