September is REALTOR® Safety Month, and even with the ups and downs of the last year, safety is still a top priority for all real estate professionals.
Check out the Top 5 Safety Actions for REALTORS® below.
Top 5 Safety Action Items for REALTORS®
1. Planning Your Safety Strategy
NAR has compiled tips and best practices from subject matter experts, law enforcement, and industry veterans to help keep REALTOR® safe. View the resources on the REALTOR® Safety Tips from NAR webpage. Examples include:
- Always meet new clients at the office or in a neutral location, like a coffee shop
- Share your schedule with a colleague, assistant, or family member
- Communicate safety concerns on your listing (poor cell phone signal, etc.)
- Do not overshare about your personal life
- Do not host open houses alone
- Check your cell phone battery and signal before heading to an appointment
- Direct clients to walk in front of you when touring a property, do not lead them
- Never go into attics, crawl spaces, or garages where you could be trapped
2. Tips and Best Practices
Below are some safety tips and best practices for REALTORS® to keep you safe on the job. The complete list can be found here.
- Keep It Light: Show properties before dark. If you are going to be working after hours, advise your associate or first-line supervisor of your schedule. If you must show a property after dark, turn on all lights and open shades prior to going inside with your client.
- Stranger Danger: Tell your clients not to show their home by themselves. Alert them that not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Predators come in all shapes and sizes. We tell our children not to talk to strangers. Tell your sellers not to talk to other agents or buyers, and to refer all inquiries to you.
- Hide Personal Information: Tell your sellers: don’t leave personal information like mail or bills out in the open where anyone can see it. Be sure to lock down your computer and lock up your laptop and any other expensive, easy-to-pocket electronics, like iPods, before your showing.
- Bring Up The Rear: When showing a home, always have your prospect walk in front of you. Don’t lead them, but rather, direct them from a position at least 3-4 arm lengths behind them. You can gesture for them to go ahead of you and say, for example, “The main bedroom is in the back of the house.”
3. Safety Videos
It’s a misconception that crimes against real estate agents are random and opportunistic. In fact, most are predatory in nature. Watch this video on predatory behavior, and how to identify it and ultimately protect yourself against it.
Other safety videos from NAR can be found here.
4. Personal Protection Resources
As a REALTOR®, it’s important you have a personal safety protocol in place that you use every day with every client, like when meeting new clients, showing properties or sharing information online. There are a variety of tools you can add to your personal safety protocol, such as the smartphone apps and safety products listed here.
5. Take the REALTOR® Safety Pledge
To inspire REALTORS® and REALTOR® Associations to keep safety top of mind and implemented into daily business protocols, the National Association of REALTORS® encourages associations and our members to make a pledge to REALTOR® Safety.
Take care of yourself, your clients, and your agents, and thank you for keeping safety top of mind!
