CCAR REALTOR SAFETY TIPS
CCAR is concerned
about our Member safety
PLEASE familiarize your self with our Safety Tips and updated news.
***REALTOR SAFETY INFORMATION***
REALTOR®
SAFETY TIPS
THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!
NAR
REALTOR® News, January 17, 1994
- BE
ALERT. Prevention is the best defense.
-
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. The minute you feel uncomfortable in a situation, get
out.
-
DRESS CONSERVATIVELY. Don’t wear expensive looking jewelry.
-
Don’t sit in an open house alone.
-
Don’t list your home phone number on your business card.
- Use
a voice pager so you are never out of touch with your office.
- Take
a cellular phone if you must sit in a house that does not have a phone.
- Meet
prospects at your office.
-
Never meet a prospect based only on a phone call.
-
Always take your own car when showing a property.
- Let
potential buyers explore areas of a home on their own, with you following
behind. Avoid going into the basement or confined areas.
-
Leave word with your office of where and with whom you have scheduled
appointments.
-
Always meet first time clients at your office.
- Ask
customers to show identification when they sign in at your office or sign a
guest register at an open house.
- When
qualifying prospects, ask a lot of questions and be a good listener. Key
questions might be:
Who other than yourself will
be seeing the property?
May I have a number to call
you back to confirm the appointment?
How soon would you like to
move?
- Find
out as much as possible about the prospects in advance, such as where they
work, what they do and how much they make.
-
NEVER show property alone at night.
-
Never advertise property as vacant.
- Keep
on file at your office, in a place accessible by others at the firm: a
recent photograph, the make, model and license number of your car, your
driver’s license number, whom to contact in cast of emergency and any
medical information that might be important.
-
Report ANY threatening or suspicious experience to the police right away.
- When
our of the office, farming for long periods of time, call in every hour or
so.
- Be
smart about which prospects you drive to showings. In some cases, you might
want to meet the prospects at the property. Whenever you leave your car,
lock it.
-
Develop within your office and your family a coded distress signal. This
way, you can call the office or home with a message that would appear
harmless to a prospect, but would alert others that you need help.
- Let
the prospect know that someone else might be showing up at the property at
any time. Letting them know that you may be joined later may discourage a
crime.
- If
you are suspicious, trust your instincts and keep yourself between the
prospect and the door. Direct the prospect to walk ahead of you as you
enter the room. The best choice is to stop working immediately at the first
sign of abnormal behavior.
-
Carry a whistle, mace (if it’s legal in your state) or shriek alarm and
always keep it with you in an easily accessible place.
- The
most important rule of all: Always remember that NO SALE IS WORTH RISKING
YOUR LIFE.
Real Estate Professionals often work with strangers, usually alone, but
there are some simple ways to protect your safety. Carroll County
Association of REALTORS®, Inc. has a video “Personal Safety for Real
Estate Professionals”, available on a three day loan basis. Video
topics cover: Safety at the Office, Safety at the Property Showing, Safety
at Night and Self Defense. Call CCAR at 410-876-3530 for more information
or to confirm availability of the video.