By Vicki Trapp, AHWD, ASP, CRS, GRI, SRES, SRS, President
Greater Chattanooga Association of REALTORS®
As September’s REALTOR® Safety Awareness month came to a close, we learned that Beverly Carter, a REALTOR® in Little Rock, Arkansas, was found dead. Beverly was doing what all REALTORS® do – showing property and helping consumers achieve the American dream of home ownership. Beverly 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 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 is not uncommon that real estate professionals are vulnerable to predators. Yet, REALTORS® may 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 is a stranger who contacts the REALTOR® from a yard sign, print or online ad. In marketing themselves, REALTORS® frequently refer to their production or sales volume. However, REALTORS® are not “rich brokers,” which is exactly how a recent predator described his victim.
According to 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 prescriptions 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.
And 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 to find their next home. While some buyer’s may 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 us 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 are 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 REALTORS®’ need to take necessary precautions. No real estate transaction is worth risking a life.