The National Association of REALTORS^® (NAR^®) offers a host of valuable resources to help you reaffirm your existing safety protocols and perhaps introduce some new ones. We’ve compiled some tips and tools for agents, teams, and brokerages to help you kick off September Safety Month!

September Safety Month Resources for Agents

Ours is a people business and your job as a real estate professional is all about building relationships and trust with clients. But at the outset, your prospects are almost always strangers to you. And therein lies the potential for danger.

While NAR reports that 96% of member agents surveyed did not encounter any incidents in 2020, their 2020 Member Safety Report revealed a particular area of vulnerability for real estate pros—open house events.

5 Tips to Stay Safe at Open Houses

We recently shared 12 tips for staying safe at open houses. Here are a few more for those inevitable occasions when you need to meet clients alone at a property.

1. Park on the street instead of in the driveway, where someone else’s car can block yours and prevent your escape.
2. Consider swapping your favorite high heels for flats and wear practical clothing that will make fleeing danger much easier.
3. Don’t go into a home’s smallest spaces with no point of egress, like basements and closets. Let your clients explore these on their own.
4. Agree upon a code word or signal that you can say or text to other agents to let them know you’re in trouble.
5. Share a written record of where you plan to be at all times, including your clients’ names, meeting times, and schedule.

While clients may seem friendly and eager to buy or sell a home, the majority of incidents in our industry are predatory in nature. Predators are motivated by power and control, and their goal is to isolate their victims, according to David Legaz, a retired NYPD sergeant and the NAR REALTOR^® Safety Advisory Committee Chair.

“With rare exception, the crimes against agents we have seen reported are predatory in nature and fit the classic predatory behavior patterns,” notes Legaz. With that in mind, he suggests being proactive about politely but firmly asserting your control over all your client interactions.

10 Proactive Ways to Empower Yourself & Be in Control

1. Ahead of any client meeting, set clear and firm expectations about your arrival time, the location (you decide on it), and the duration of the interaction.
2. Using a tactic Legaz calls “passive surveillance,” let arriving clients know that your open house will soon be visited by nearby neighbors, other clients, agents, or open house attendees.
3. In listing descriptions and open house marketing, indicate that the house is easily visible from the street with language like “floor-to-ceiling windows let in natural light.”
4. Introduce yourself to the neighbors near your listings, and let them know to look out for your car at upcoming showings and open house events. Invite them to attend.
5. Require sign-in sheets and take photos of arriving guests’ IDs on your smartphone at open house events.
6. Bring a buddy, colleague, or teammate to co-host your open house events and showings.
7. If you must go it alone, invest in a portable, cloud-based surveillance camera system. Let clients know it’s on, and someone is tuned in to watch the open house in real time (think: “nanny cam”).
8. Keep your phone in your hand at all times during showings and open houses or even better, choose a smartwatch or other wearable device with tracking and internet capabilities.
9. Program emergency contacts into your “speed dial” on your phone.
10. Attach a personal safety alarm like Birdie to your key chain, and activate its 130-decibel siren and flashing strobe light in case of emergency.

Additional Agent Safety Resources From The Close

Here’s a collection of recent articles from The Close that may be helpful to you during safety month and throughout the year as you consider new safety strategies and preventative measures.

Ask Dr. Julie: “How Should Agents Deal With Toxic Clients?”

9 Top Real Estate Safety Apps You Need to Know About

Can Becoming a Local Safety Expert Grow Your Real Estate Business? Yes, It Can!

10 Leading-edge Realtor Safety Tips That Could Save Your Life

5 Realtor Safety Lessons We Learned From the Pandemic

Shock Study: More Than 50% of Realtors Carry Weapons on Showings

NAR September Safety Month Webinars

As noted earlier, whether you’re a new agent or you’ve been in the business for decades, it’s easy to get complacent, and incorporating preventative safety practices can sometimes seem like a hassle that eats up your valuable time.

Having well-practiced safety routines in place can help you to see warning signs and avoid risk. NAR’s September webinars will help you handle the risks that real estate agents face in the course of their work.

It’s an interactive conversation where you can hear from other professionals and their experiences. You’ll come away with some key takeaways like how to spot danger and how to navigate it once it finds you.

Avoiding REALTOR^® Danger Zones

Date: September 15, 2021, 1 to 2 p.m. Central Time

Register

Conference Year-Round + REALTOR^® Safety Discussion: Avoiding REALTOR^® Danger Zones

Date: September 16, 2021, 1 to 2 p.m. Central Time

Register

September Safety Month Resources for Teams & Brokerages

Whether you’re an agent, team leader, principal broker, or brokerage owner, health and well-being should be a consideration throughout the year. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes.

NAR makes it incredibly easy for members to share safety messages with their teams this month and throughout the year using their well-developed series of presentations. Presentations cover safety at home, at the office, and on the road with clients.

REALTOR Safety Broker & Association Toolkit

Using their custom toolkit for associations and brokerages, NAR advocates for organization-wide training sessions of one to three hours, or alternatively, independent study sessions that can be incorporated into your company’s onboarding process for new agents.

They also advocate for expert-led training sessions and offer a list of recommended providers, including Tracey Hawkins, Close Contributor and owner of Safety and Security Source. Tracey will be a presenter at NAR’s annual conference in November. Learn more about her upcoming presentation here.

NAR Downloadable Resources

Finally, NAR offers a host of downloadable resources to assist brokers and associations with safety awareness in September and throughout the year. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, these were our 10 favorite items that should be an essential part of your real estate agency’s safety toolkit.

1. A Crisis Communication Checklist for Associations
2. Agent Identification Form
3. Agent Itinerary
4. Office Safety Action Plan
5. Prospect Identification Form
6. 56 Weekly Realtor Safety Tips
7. 56 Weekly Tips in Graphics for Sharing on Social Media
8. Posters, Flyers & Banners
9. Safety Webinars
10. Safety Videos

You can begin to lead with safety by sharing NAR’s ready-made weekly tips on your company’s social media channels. Or view their most recent safety webinars at your team meetings this September.

Final Thoughts

We hope we’ve compiled the most valuable, actionable resources for you to use to raise awareness throughout the month, and to keep you and your team safe throughout the coming year. For more, check out our 10 Safety Best Practices to Protect Your Brokerage.

Wishing you good health, safety, and well-being from The Close team to yours!

The post Realtor Safety Month Resources for Agents, Teams & Brokerages appeared first on The Close.

According to NAR’s survey, open houses and showings hold particular risk. With REALTOR^® Safety Month just ahead, we invite you to learn more about NAR’s most recent findings and follow our smart, preventative tips to help you work more safely. We’ll share what our industry is doing right, what we could do better, and how to protect yourself.

Open House Events & Showings Are Your Greatest Risk

While 96% of REALTORS^® reported having experienced no criminal activity in 2020, the remaining 4% of NAR’s survey respondents were reportedly victims of assault, robbery, theft, and other undisclosed crimes. Of these, the vast majority of incidents occurred at open houses, showings, and in the agent’s own vehicle.

96% of REALTORS^® did not experience any criminal activity in 2020.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

A full 17% of the self-reported victims of crime in NAR’s survey noted their experience occurred during an open house. As real estate professionals, you’re often required to meet with strangers in private spaces. NAR’s data points to a particular area of risk that you can avoid by employing preventative safety measures.

Even as virtual open houses became the norm during the pandemic last year, 23% of REALTORS^® reported feeling unsafe while hosting an open house alone, according to NAR’s survey. Women in our industry experienced fear more frequently than men.

17% of reported criminal activity occurred at an open house.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

Twenty-five percent of women REALTORS^® reported experiencing a situation that made them fear for their personal safety or the security of their personal information—a number significantly down from 40% in 2019. The drop is no doubt due to limited opportunities for open houses in 2020 due to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders.

By contrast, only 15% of men in our industry felt the same way last year, down from 21% in the previous year. These numbers were lower for both men and women REALTORS^® who live in work in small towns or rural or suburban areas.

Other Potential Areas of Risk for Realtors

An additional 7% of criminal incidents occurred during showings, another 7% in the agents’ vehicles, and 7% while meeting new clients for the first time at a property or other location. Notably, 35% of NAR’s respondents who reported criminal activity said that it followed a threatening or inappropriate email, text message, phone call, or voicemail.

35% of respondents who encountered criminal activity said that it followed threatening communication.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

We understand that meeting clients in private spaces is part of the job. In 2020, 51% of REALTORS® hosted an open house alone and 40% showed vacant properties in areas with poor or no phone coverage, according to NAR’s report.

NAR’s statistics underscore the need for preventative measures—practiced consistently and targeted to these specific activities—to help you stay safe from would-be criminals.

51% of REALTORS^® hosted an open house alone last year.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

With a bit of common sense and planning, you can hold safer open house events and showings in 2022 and beyond. The best way to protect yourself is by adopting new ways of working that won’t hinder your ability to do business—we promise!

12 Tips to Stay Safe at Your Next Open House or Showing

Incorporate these 12 tips culled from NAR’s safety recommendations into your weekly open house routine:

1. Ensure your phone is fully charged and bring a mobile phone charger with you.
2. Put your emergency contacts on speed dial.
3. Check that your phone signal is strong.
4. Invest in a wireless hotspot for use at properties where phone reception and Wi-Fi are limited.
5. Survey the neighborhood for potential safety concerns before an open house or showing.
6. Unlock only one point of entry into the home so you are aware of all incoming clients.
7. At showings, let the clients walk in ahead of you.
8. Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings.
9. Don’t spend time surfing the internet or emails on your phone.
10. When showing a home, consider your exit strategy before the client even arrives.
11. Verify that every attendee has left the premises before closing up and locking the home.
12. If you think a home will take some time to sell, introduce yourself to the neighbors so they know you’ll be coming and going from the property.

NAR provides dozens of safety tips just like these, covering all aspects of your job, including client meetings, open houses, showings, cybersecurity, and more.

Take advantage of their ready-made tips and infographics. You can share them with your team or on your social media platforms to help keep you, your team, and your clients keep safe from harm. Visit NAR.REALTOR/SAFETY to download more helpful resources.

You can also use my Seller Safety and Security Checklist before signing the listing agreement. This tool is a way to lead with safety, showing your sellers that you are not only concerned about listing their home, but that you care about the safety and security of their property. The checklist serves as a critical reminder to sellers that can help reduce your liability.

What Our Industry Is Doing Right

REALTORS^® Are Carrying Self-defense Weapons

According to their 2020 survey, 49% of NAR members choose to carry self-defense weapons, up slightly from 44% in 2019. Almost 20% of those surveyed chose pepper spray as their weapon of choice.

When seeking a self-defense spray, you should know that they’re not all created equal. MACE is a brand name for a range of products that includes both pepper spray and tear gas. The brand name has become synonymous with self-defense sprays because it was one of the first such products on the market.

49% of NAR members carried self-defense weapons last year.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

The original formulation was made from 1% chloroacetophenone (CN), which is a form of tear gas designed to cause severe eye irritation. Pepper spray is made from oleoresin capsicum (OC), an inflammatory agent that that causes eye irritation so severe that it induces temporary blindness. Pepper spray also causes burning in the lungs and shortness of breath.

We recommend carrying pepper spray, as opposed to tear gas or a combination product. If you spray someone who is under the influence, tear gas may not be as effective in stopping your attacker. Although it doesn’t come with a 100% guarantee, postal carriers and law enforcement choose pepper spray for this reason. Pepper spray is a non-lethal safety tool you can easily carry in your pocket.

How to Use Pepper Spray Effectively

Spray your canister in a “z” or “s” formation in the direction of the face of a potential predator. It will cause their eyes to burn, water, and slam shut. It works by causing inflammation to a person’s mucous membranes. Their temporary blindness, coughing, and difficulty breathing may give you time to get out of a dangerous situation.

Pepper spray has a limited shelf life because aerosol containers lose pressure over time. Usually, spray canisters are good for two to three years. Check the expiration date and remember to test your spray every six months and before you need it. Test it outdoors, when it isn’t windy. Each half-ounce canister contains eight to 10 one-second sprays.

REALTORS^® Are Getting Self-defense Training

According to NAR’s 2020 survey, 38% of REALTORS^® have participated in a self-defense class. Joe Rosner is a nationally recognized expert on personal safety, crime prevention, and self-defense, and the author of Keep Calm & Carry Pepper Spray. He stresses that agents should take regular self-defense training and not settle for occasional or standalone classes.

“Be ready to defend yourself! Carry pepper spray and learn basic self-defense techniques.”

Joe Rosner, Director of Best Defense USA

He claims that hands-on classes can be taught safely even during the pandemic, and that most instructors will wear a mask if participants are concerned. He also recommends The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becke, a book about trusting your built-in survival mechanism or intuition.

REALTORS^® Are Using Free & Paid Safety Apps

According to NAR, 58% of members use a smart phone safety app to track whereabouts and alert colleagues in case of an emergency, up from 53% in 2019. They rely heavily on the Find My iPhone app (36%), but smartphone users who use Google Maps for GPS already have a free, location-based safety app on their phones.

Many popular apps duplicate this feature at a cost, but with Google Maps, you can allow a colleague, family member, or friend to view your location in real time. They can also use Google Street View to see an image of your physical location.

58% of members use a smart phone safety app to track whereabouts and alert colleagues in case of an emergency.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

Your goal is to let your contacts know your work schedule, which they can view through Google Calendar. Simply share your expected arrival and departure times with your colleagues or family members and using Google’s suite of tools, they’ll be able to track when you arrive at your open house or showing and when you leave. They’ll also be notified of any stops along the way.

You can limit the duration of their access to that information or allow 24/7 access to your family members, friends, or colleagues through the Google Maps app. These features work even for non-Google members. You can stop sharing at any time and block users if needed.

While there’s a proliferation of safety apps on the market, our recent article will help you discern which ones will serve you best.

What Our Industry Could Do Better

According to NAR, 71% of agents did not attend a safety course in 2020. Real estate safety education is not mandated and isn’t usually prioritized until an incident has occurred. NAR’s report states that only 38% of REALTORS^® said that their local REALTOR^® Association includes safety training as part of new member orientation. Unfortunately, safety isn’t sexy.

The National Association of REALTOR^® at one time required safety education to be offered each calendar year for associations to stay in compliance. However, education directors say that is no longer a requirement. As a result, associations, boards, and real estate companies feel no pressure to provide expert-led training.

Seek Out Safety Training Experts

Based on my experience as a national safety expert, my busiest time of year outside of September’s Real Estate Safety Month is right after a crime against an agent has occurred. I encourage brokerages, associations, and boards to continue to make safety training a priority.

According to NAR, 71% of agents did not attend a safety course in 2020.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

I understand that it’s an ongoing challenge to get agents to show up for safety training. That’s why I created the Consumer Safety and Security Specialist, CSSS designation. I provide classes that teach you and your team how to lead with safety AND make more money.

My approach is to grow your business using safety as a marketing tool, and to consider implementing safety measures in every aspect of your work. According to NAR, 72% of survey respondents have personal safety protocols in place that they follow with every client. This is more likely among women (75%) than men (64%)—but in our view, this number be closer to 100%.

Develop a Structured Safety Committee

According to NAR, fewer than 10% of brokerages have implemented safety committees in their offices. Safety committees provide an avenue for leadership to implement an ongoing safety program. Having one in place is key when proactively managing risk and documenting the company’s actions to reduce liability. Brokerages can help protect themselves against any claim of negligence.

Fewer than 10% of brokerages have implemented a safety committee.

Source: 2020 REALTORS® and Member Safety Report

If your company has a safety committee, consider serving on it. Your committee should consist of agents, management, and staff. Leadership should plan a safety calendar during the initial meeting. The plan should include regular safety messaging, posting safety tips throughout the office or in the break room, and disseminating safety information and tips to the agents regularly.

You can share safety messaging in your company newsletter, online, through electronic communications, chatter, social media, and at weekly sales meetings. Brokers, managers, and owners who complete my broker, manager, and owner safety training can learn to manage their office safely and implement safety policies and procedures.

You can also use your company’s safety policy handbook to implement, enforce, and support the safety policies your committee puts in place.

Final Thoughts

As a speaker at this year’s NAR conference in November, I’ll be sharing stories of real estate agents who have been victimized, the lessons we’ve learned as an industry, and my expert safety advice to help agents like you protect themselves using simple, preventative safety measures. I encourage you to know your risk, make a safety plan, always lead with safety—and stay safe!

The post Understanding NAR’s Safety Stats Can Help You Protect Yourself appeared first on The Close.

New and unique realtor safety practices emerged with both buyers and sellers alike, and many continue today. We’ve provided a shortlist of pandemic safety habits we think you should keep practicing because they offer benefits beyond virus protection.

5 Pandemic Safety Practices You Need to Keep Doing – According to Real Estate Pros

Before March 2020, you would have never imagined incorporating some safety practices into your regular work detail, nor would you have dreamed of asking the consumer to follow them. The pandemic forced all real estate professionals and their clients to change their habits.

As the world opens back up, some safety requirements remain in place. While some will be minimal, others will go away (we promise!). But we’d argue that you should embrace some of the safety lessons learned and continue using best practices you adopted last year. I encourage you to continue while the habits are still ingrained and accepted by agents and consumers alike.

1. Incorporate Virtual Showings as a Regular Safety Practice

Virtual home tours or “self showings” work for real estate agent and property manager Bess McCreary Wozniak, of Marietta, Georgia. According to Wozniak, who has earned the Property Management Safety Certification, her office plans to continue to practice this safety measure long after the pandemic is over.

“Our office strictly does self-showing for all of our available listings. This procedure prevents the need to meet people at any of our vacant properties.”

— Bess McCreary Wozniak, CPM®, MPM®,Vice President, Associate Broker of McCreary Realty Management, Inc., AMO® in Marietta, GA

Apart from showings, sometimes a need arises to visit a property or a listing for other reasons. Here’s how Wozniak describes her team’s safety procedures in such circumstances.

“Any time we need to go to a property, occupied or otherwise, for inspections or marketing photos, we notify the entire staff via our messaging system, and it is also put on the calendar, so everyone knows where we are. If we are meeting a prospective client to view their property, we list their name and contact info along with the address on the calendar event.”

CAUTION: Virtual Home Showings May Pose Unique Risks

Virtual or self-showings reduce the risk that comes with meeting strangers at properties. However, it’s important to note that they can lead to other types of crimes.

Burglary – Criminals can obtain the lock code by pretending to be a prospective tenant or buyer and then steal items from the property. They may do so upon touring or leave a window or door unlocked and return later.

Financial fraud – Con artists and fraudsters can con unsuspecting tenants or buyers out of deposits, advance rent, and application fees. Once they obtain a property’s access code, they can take the Craigslist scam to a new level. They may advertise the property for rent to unsuspecting potential tenants, and provide the code to tour the property. Then they extract a deposit from the unsuspecting tenant, who would be more likely to pay after having access to the property, believing it to be a legitimate situation.

Identity theft – The scam noted above can also facilitate identity theft. The scammer may ask potential tenants or buyers to complete a credit application, divulging their social security numbers, employment information, birthdates, and more.

SAFETY SOLUTION:

One way to protect yourself from the unique risks that arise from virtual showings is to properly screen your potential clients and know with whom you are working. Some background screening apps only detect if a person has been convicted of a crime and has a record. There are serial criminals out there who have not yet been caught.

Employ a comprehensive screening app/service like Real Safe Agent’s Hoosfon that can give you a more complete picture of who you are dealing with, flagging items like high-risk or prepaid phones. The app will help determine whether you’re dealing with someone’s business or personal account, the account owner’s name, location, and more.

2. Continue Using Virtual Tools to Stay Safe in the Field

Missouri-based tech expert Burton Kelso says, “Most agents worked remotely during the pandemic and also embraced newer forms of technology such as video conferencing and cloud-based solutions. These changes are good as it allows agents to be able to conduct business from anywhere in the world.”

“I have been in my company’s office only once since last year,” shared Stacey Johnson-Cosby, a real estate agent who has been able to stay productive by investing in upgrades to her technology. Johnson-Cosby plans to remain working virtually for as long as possible. The fact that she can be more productive working from home is a bonus.

Stacey Johnson-Cosby is a housing provider and landlord in Kansas City. She’s also a local and national spokesperson for her housing organizations, The Kansas City Regional Housing Alliance and the National Housing Provider Coalition. She was recently traveling when she got the call to be interviewed on a national news channel.

“I need to be able to go on live television for interviews, host virtual meetings and events from home, and meet with clients.”

Stacey Johnson-Cosby, Senior Sales Executive, ReeceNichols, Kansas City, MO

She’s on the front lines of a tense national issue between housing providers and tenants. As the end of the federally mandated eviction moratorium becomes imminent, she worries about new dangers sweeping the nation.

“Fellow housing providers have been attacked, a local judge with an eviction docket had tenant movement protesters show up 100 strong in his yard and on his front porch with his family home,” she shared.

Her husband Dewayne Cosby usually collects rent from tenants at their properties. These days, he uses Cash App instead. During the pandemic, the app helped him avoid close contact with tenants, but it has also proven efficient, and he plans to continue using it as a secure form of payment.

“Cash App limits the amount of cash that I have to carry while out.”

Dewayne Cosby, Housing Provider and Co-Owner, S and D Properties, LLC

3. Keep Holding Virtual Meetings to be Both Efficient and Safe

As agents, you may have struggled with having new clients come to your office for first meetings. In-person first meetings have always been recommended for safety reasons. Those with criminal intent would be reluctant to be publicly identified and so would avoid meeting you in the flesh.

I’ve advocated for virtual first meetings for years, and this past year,

agents across the country were forced to heed my advice. Clients offered no pushback because it was safer for all parties. Plus, health guidelines inspired by the pandemic made virtual meetings mandatory in most places.

Virtual meetings are a practice that you should continue throughout 2022 while they’re still considered the norm. Consumers are accustomed to virtual viewings and meetings. You can easily preview potential properties and eliminate properties that may not be a fit.

Not only do virtual meetings help you secure financial information, identification and preview properties at an early stage in the client relationship, they also allow you to be more productive with your time and save on travel costs.

CAUTION: Some Potential Pitfalls of Virtual Meetings

As agents, you’re obligated to protect the seller’s property. Since more eyes will view their home and its contents online, be careful not to showcase their valuables in property photos, virtual tours, videos and virtual open house events. Be mindful of showcasing expensive artwork, gun collections, electronics, and other items of value.

Joe Rosner, a safety expert based in the Chicago area, warns of tech-savvy criminals gaining remote access to your computer devices while connected during virtual meetings. “While you are meeting and showing virtually, they could be using remote access terminals. They may send you requested information via a PDF, with suspicious links that may infect your device with a virus or malware.”

SAFETY SOLUTION:

Conducting regular technology assessments will ensure that your business remains uninterrupted and that you are working efficiently. Meticulously keeping your devices, software and computer’s security up-to-date will go a long way to keeping your data safe. Read on for details from an expert in the field.

“Real estate is a highly targeted industry as far as cybercrime because of the money involved in real estate transactions. Educate yourself on the latest cyber threats. Partner with a technology professional to assess and check all of your devices regularly to ensure that they are safe from cybercrime.”

Burton Kelso, Chief Technology Expert at Integral, in Lee’s Summit, MO

4. Keep Your Technology and IT Security Up-To-Date

Burton Kelso likes the idea of agents working virtually, but he warns that they need to keep an eye out for cyber threats. Kelso notes that staying up-to-date on technology will help you protect client information, your technology devices, and keep yourself safe.

“Technology changes so quickly, and there is no way any real estate agent can keep up with all of the changes and make sure that their buyers and sellers are happy,” says Kelso. He and his company offer virtual technology services to real estate brokerages across the country. “You don’t have to leave your office to make sure everything is secure.”

Burton Kelso’s Top 3 Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Tech Check-Up Tips:

1. Make sure your back-ups are continuously running
2. Make sure that your devices are protected from the latest cyber threat
3. Make sure that you are educated about the latest cyber threats and trained to spot one when it appears on the devices you use for your real estate business

5. Keep Practicing (Some) Pandemic Protocols

Many people are happy to get rid of their masks once vaccinated, not to mention eliminate the communication issues that sometimes accompanied them. Since the CDC advises that masks are not needed once you are fully vaccinated, it is now acceptable and safe to work without them.

However, you need to adhere to your local COVID-19 safety guidelines, which usually follow the CDC’s guidelines. Keep in mind the consumer may not be convinced yet, or ready to drop some safe practices brought about by the pandemic.

Therefore, you must be prepared to wear a mask and practice social distancing at their request. Since there is no way to know who is vaccinated, you need to consider your safety and that of your clients and community.

Sellers understand that COVID-19 is still a very real threat. Having strangers walk through their homes is a justified health concern. Remind buyers to continue to observe minimal surface contact when viewing a home.

Bryan Castro of RE/MAX ONE says that while he’s not an anti-masker, he continues to follow current guidelines but looks forward to when they are over. He points out that conveying delicate information around real estate transactions has posed a challenge through the pandemic, but he may keep some of the practices he’s picked up this past year.

“Not touching things at showings, sanitizing after showings, and signing additional forms [at] every showing isn’t viable long-term. The only thing I might keep (after the pandemic) is the hand sanitizer and the reluctance to shake hands.”

Bryan Castro, Realtor, RE/MAX ONE in Thousand Oaks, CA

SAFETY SOLUTION:

When it comes to ongoing hygiene, Burton Kelso recommends keeping your devices germ-free as an ongoing practice, even after the pandemic. Keep your electronic components from being damaged by improper cleaning products.

Kelso recommends using a homemade solution of 50% alcohol and 50% water applied sparingly with a soft cloth followed by a quick wipe down with a dry cloth. Or you can try Phone Soap, a device that uses UV-C rays to sanitize your phone and devices in just 10 minutes. Simply place your device inside Phone Soap and it removes 99.9% of household germs.

Post-Pandemic Realtor Safety

“We all felt bulletproof before last year. The pandemic showed that we aren’t immortal.”

Joe Rosner, National Safety Expert, Best Defense USA

In so many ways, the pandemic was a wake-up call. According to Rosner, “Whether it is a crime, violence, fraud or disease, we know we are at risk. However, we can improve our odds of being safer. There is no need to feel helpless.”

Having a robust safety plan for your practice and for your brokerage is an excellent place to start. No matter which safety practices you plan to carry forward, your role in leading with safety is to reinforce current safety guidelines and remind all parties of the procedures. Be the agent who always looks out for your clients’ safety, now and in a post-pandemic world.

What’s Your Best Safety Practice for Real Estate Agents?

Which of these pandemic lessons and safety practices will you continue to implement in your real estate business when restrictions end?

The post 5 Realtor Safety Lessons We Learned From the Pandemic appeared first on The Close.

As a safety expert, I’ll show you why you need a safety plan, how to protect your brokerage with one—and more importantly, how to keep your team safe.

1. Start by Establishing a Culture of Safety

The U.S. Department of Labor considers real estate sales and leasing a high-risk occupation, making a brokerage safety plan imperative. You need to create a safety plan, implement and maintain it, train your agents and office staff, and document each step to stay in compliance. A solid plan will also help you reduce liability and increase recruitment and retention.

Lori Namazi founded Namazi Real Estate Resources, a boutique brokerage consultancy practice in Margarita, California. She explains the potential risks and reasons why brokerages need a comprehensive safety plan in place.

“The number 1 role of a Broker, according to real estate commissions across the nation, is to supervise. Failing to supervise can open you up to disciplinary action, an audit, Code of Ethics violations, Fair Housing complaints, and lawsuits.”

— Lori Namazi, Founder, Namazi Real Estate Resources

 

Christian Barnes leads an office of 450 agents. She says safety training is crucial in the real estate industry. She is determined to keep safety top of mind for her agents. “We keep safety relevant through our education and training. Not only during our annual risk management seminars, but we weave safety reminders throughout as many training sessions as we can.”

“Safety training isn’t optional. It is critical in our industry and a must-have.”

— Christian Barnes, President and CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes 

 

2. Create a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

Workplace shootings are on the rise. In March 2021, six mass shootings took place at businesses in the U.S., including a shooter who killed four people at a real estate office in Orange County, California. One victim was a 9-year-old boy. In April, a former agent shot and killed two colleagues at their New York real estate office before turning his gun on himself.

Overall, 43.7% of active shooter incidents in the U.S. took place in commercial properties over the past eight years, according to the FBI. These numbers support the need for business owners, and especially real estate brokerages, to be prepared and implement an expert-led plan.

Here’s why. Only 3.6% of those incidents took place in malls, while 26.7% took place in places of business that were open to pedestrian traffic. The remaining 13.4% of active shooter incidents took place in businesses closed to pedestrian traffic. Depending on how your office is set up, this could put you and your team at risk.

The ABCs of Surviving an Active Shooter Incident

In Maryland, Gale McFadden, Administrative Director at Thrive Professional Solutions, encourages brokerages to learn their ABCs in case of an active shooter. McFadden’s company’s “Active Survivor” training empowers business owners to establish step-by-step training for surviving an active shooter situation.

A= Avoid     

B= Barricade     

C= Counter     

S= Survive

— Gale McFadden, Administrative Director at Thrive Professional Solutions

 

Having your office staff and members perform safety drills will prepare them to take cover effectively in case of an active shooting incident. Practice drills will also help your team identify useful items to barricade the doors, designate a “safe room,” and develop an emergency contact system to check in with all staff and agents.

Another fundamental premise of McFadden’s Thrive training is setting up your office space to make it more difficult for a shooter or unauthorized people to enter your business easily. Thrive created the checklist for brokerages, below, that includes several Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles.

10 Action Items to Protect Your Brokerage & Agents

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3. Establish a Safety Committee 

Every real estate brokerage needs a Safety Committee to lead safety education, initiatives, and events. Led by a chairperson, your committee’s role is to keep safety top of mind.

Allow your committee to present five-minute safety reports on specific safety or security topics during every team or sales meeting. Your committee should share curated safety content in company communications, either in writing or video format. Task your committee with posting safety and security signage throughout your office space.

Working with your company’s leadership, your safety committee should coordinate expert-led, quarterly safety training, culminating in an annual, more comprehensive program. Ideally, this would take place during September’s Real Estate Safety Month.

4. Reduce Your Physical AND Financial Risk

The office shooting in Orange County that we mentioned earlier is 20 minutes from Lori Namazi’s brokerage office. She’s concerned about the risk to brokerages if they fail to implement a safety program.

“Brokerages can be liable. We are not immune to civil lawsuits if someone is killed on our watch. So often, [brokerage] owners don’t know what they don’t know. I work with them to implement procedures in their businesses, including assessing pros and cons to minimize risks.”

She also conducts risk management assessments to inform brokers about risks they may not know exist and more commonly known business risks and needed documentation.

“Brokers must be prepared to show proof of their supervision by providing a policy and procedure manual and evidence of continuous communication and training of their agents. If you don’t have either of these in place, this should become a priority to protect your business.”

— Lori Namazi, Founder, Namazi Real Estate Resources 

5. Size Doesn’t Matter–Start Today

Even small companies should implement safety training and a safety plan. There are no barriers to entry. Robin Dayton has six agents and has been a broker since 2017. She has been a member of the real estate industry for 27 years. She makes it a point to provide expert-led safety training for her agents and makes it mandatory for all agents to attend the training.

Dayton supplies her agents with safety tools, including pepper spray and flashlights. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2020 Member Safety Report, 19% of those surveyed stated that they carry pepper spray, the leading non-lethal weapon choice every year.

“Small companies are the start of a big company! Never discount small beginnings.”

— Robin Dayton, Broker and CEO, Dayton Dynasty Realty, LLC 

 

6. Protect Your Workplace

Greg Saville is the co-founder of the International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association (CPTED), based in Colorado. He offers CPTED training certification, a concept that focuses on design and environmental techniques to make physical structures less inviting to criminals.

Saville explains that CPTED has two levels: the first generation removes the physical crime triggers on a property, but the second generation matters more for property managers.

“The second generation lasts and it works: getting people organized and educated about CPTED; setting up teams to work on safety; getting people to know one another, and showing them how much help they already have in their own community. That is the real advantage of CPTED.”

Saville offers specific training for brokerage owners and suggests that they check with their insurance company to see if these crime prevention measures qualify them for a premium discount.

“Properly applied CPTED, based on a thorough diagnosis by a qualified practitioner, is among the most resilient and effective crime prevention strategies for the real estate world. Over the decades, it has proven its worth. Unlike other security responses, CPTED offers a true proactive tool for the toolbox of realtors, property managers, brokerage firms, and community residents.”

– Gregory Saville, Director at AlterNation Consulting and Co-founder, International Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Association (CPTED)

3 Ways to Prevent Crime Using Environmental Design

Saville and his company have several areas of focus in preventing crime using environmental design.

Territoriality: Create a sense of turf by using physical design features. It should be apparent where the property owner’s boundaries begin and end, discouraging the desire for criminals to encroach.

Natural surveillance: This step includes improving visibility and sightlines. The point is to avoid providing a hiding place for criminals who target your office. Keep landscaping cut back and clear. Make sure your building or office is highly visible to neighbors and passersby. The placement and use of cameras are also essential steps.

Natural access controls: Physically guide people coming and going from a space by the specific placement of entrances, fences, landscaping, and lighting. It creates a perception of risk to a perpetrator.

Image and maintenance: A well-maintained area shows that the property is cared for, and people will notice if something is amiss.

7. Take Inventory

In case of a burglary, fire, or natural disaster, your police department and insurer will need proof of loss for their police report and insurance claim. Check to see if your local police department participates in the Operation Identification program.

The program encourages you to permanently mark items with an identifying number or your business name to assist in reuniting you with the items if they are stolen and recovered. You can choose to engrave the equipment and valuables or mark them with an invisible ink pen or permanent marker.

Even if the program isn’t available through your local police department, it is still beneficial to take these steps. Record serial numbers and document your office items along with a photo or video. Store this record in the cloud and maintain a physical copy onsite for quick retrieval.

8. Train Your Office Gatekeepers

Often, real estate safety training focuses narrowly on agent safe work practices. In most real estate offices, the gatekeeper sits at the front desk and can be the most critical part of the safety committee or team. Their jobs are on the front line.

Their role should be to enforce identification requirement policies, control who has access to entering the office, and support any established safety policies.

You should require your administrative and support staff to participate in all safety training. Ensure they’re taught to recognize potentially dangerous situations and trained in document storage and destruction.

9. Have a Safety Policy & Procedures Handbook

Your office should have a safety handbook with provisions requiring all agents to sign off that they have read and understood the company’s safe work practices. If something happens to that agent, leadership can prove that they’ve implemented policies and make training available to their team.

I have created the country’s only Broker, Manager, and Owner real estate safety training certification and workshop, including a Real Estate Office Safe Practice and Policies Office Handbook. Brokers, owners, and managers must complete continuing education (CE) training to receive a copy for use in their office.

10. Disaster-proof Your Business

Disaster training is often overlooked. Coni Meyers was a FEMA inspector and trainer. She told us that human-made disasters cost $33 billion a year and are on the rise. But natural disasters cost an average of $152 billion per year in each of 2015 and 2016.

Coni Meyers runs a Crisis Knowledge Management program that trains brokerages in office preparedness, planning, and community outreach. Agents trained in her program can educate community members about how to prepare for emergencies, thus raising their visibility while also making key connections with potential leads.

Meyer’s goal is to train 30 million people within five years in disaster and emergency preparedness. Her company offers Crisis Knowledge Management Advisor training to brokerages and their agents to add value to the company and agent relationships with consumers.

“You need to ask yourself: What do I need to run my business if the office doesn’t exist anymore? What if it was burned to the ground or is destroyed by fire or floods? What do you need to stay in business? According to FEMA, 75% of all businesses will be out of business in two years if they are affected by a disaster without an emergency plan. You do not want to be that statistic.”

— Coni Meyers, Disaster Preparedness Expert & Founder, CKM Solutions Group

Safety Shouldn’t Be a Once-a-Year Event

September is National Real Estate Safety Month.

“A reminder that once a year simply isn’t enough. In addition to the reminders, we have both company and office safety policies in place, and we ensure those are followed throughout the year.” 

— Christian Barnes, President and CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes 

 

Expert-led safety training is in short supply. With the priority of ensuring that brokerages and real estate companies of all sizes will have an opportunity to get proper training, I created the Real Estate Safety Education Alliance (RESETA).

RESETA is a collaboration of the above-listed safety and security experts from across the country. Brokerages like yours can request an assessment meeting and evaluation. We’ll provide a safety plan and instructions for implementing the advised steps. For more information about RESETA and how it can help your brokerage, please email me today!

Share Your Plan

Does your company or brokerage office have an innovative or dynamic safety plan in place? Tell us about it in the comments!

The post 10 Safety Best Practices to Protect Your Brokerage in 2022 appeared first on The Close.

The good news? Proactive real estate professionals are getting better at spotting the warning signs that a real estate scam is afoot and at protecting their clients. Check out my recent video that highlights the five real estate scams you need to know about.

Read on to learn about effective strategies you can use to protect your clients (and yourself) from being duped by some of the sneakiest real estate scams happening now.

1. Closing Wire Fraud

This particular real estate fraud is actually the least common on our list, but it is without a doubt the most devastating and dangerous to our clients. Here’s how it works:

A scammer starts by hacking the email inbox of a principal party in a real estate transaction. Most commonly, it’s a closing or title company. These hacks are difficult to detect because the scammers aren’t doing anything other than observing their target’s communications.

Once they’ve identified an imminent closing, the scammer creates a fake email address from what appears to be a reputable source. Then they provide the real estate buyer with wiring instructions for closing funds, such as the down payment, directing them into their own account.

Unsuspecting buyers then wire their funds to the scammers instead of the closing company, often to the tune of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Funds wired to nefarious accounts, especially in offshore and often unregulated banks, are incredibly difficult to recover and typically are never seen again.

Obviously, theft at this level leaves buyers completely devastated and affects the sellers in a transaction too, as they no longer have a buyer for their property. Closing wire fraud also impacts the real estate industry as a whole since consumers lose confidence in the way the system operates.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From Closing Wire Fraud

Unfortunately, the warning signs of this particular fraud are incredibly difficult to spot since most of the groundwork for this scam is laid passively when the thieves are observing and gathering information about their marks.

However, you can take steps to protect yourself. Ensure that you and your client have a clear understanding of where the wiring instructions are coming from in any transfer of funds. Communicate clearly about who will be sending them and when they will arrive. That way, if they arrive at a time you’re not anticipating, you’ll know to be on alert.

If you are going to exchange sensitive information via email (which, honestly, is a reality in the real estate business), make sure you’re following all the security protocols, enabling two-factor authentication, and keeping all your business email in one place—rather than spreading it across your business and personal accounts.

If you’re not feeling confident in your email server’s security, check out Google Workspace. It is the Gmail interface we all know and can use, but with the added benefits of Google’s extra security and productivity tools.

2. Fake Rentals on Craigslist

Anyone who’s spent time on Craigslist or prospected for leads there knows that there are tons of opportunities, but also some shady characters lurking on the platform, including some real estate scammers. Here’s how they conduct the most common of all Craigslist real estate scams.

First, they head to a reputable real estate website like Zillow and capture listing information for properties currently on the market. They’ll grab listing photos, descriptions, and enough detailed information to make their scam appear legitimate.

Next, they’ll go to Craigslist and create a fraudulent ad for a rental property using the details they’ve scraped off of the property listing. They’ll often list the rental rate below market value to make the offer seem like a fantastic deal and generate communication with would-be renters.

Once a renter contacts them about the property, they’ll use some line like, “We’ve got a ton of interest in our rental, but nobody committed yet. If you’d like to put down an application deposit to hold your place in line, we can do that, then set up a time for you to see the home.”

Of course, there is no home to see, and once that deposit amount clears the scammer’s account, the victim will never hear from the scammer again.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From Fake Craigslist Rentals

As a real estate agent, the first thing you can do is start checking Craigslist periodically for your listings being used as fake rentals. This can seem a little laborious at first, but 15 minutes once a week is worth the time to ensure your business isn’t mixed up in these sorts of real estate scams.

If you’re working with renters as clients, make sure you’re the first point of contact with any potential landlords. As a real estate agent, you know reputable landlords would never require a deposit for a showing or disconnecting from a lease. To our clients, these rental opportunities seem almost too good to be true. As their agents, we understand that these real estate scams really are too good to be true.

3. Fraudulent Foreclosure Relief

Our third scam is a particularly cruel one because it leverages a scary and often painful time in someone’s life: mortgage foreclosure. Foreclosure status on a home is public information, which means bad actors can access lists of homes in financial distress.

Scammers will often take advantage of this by going door-to-door and offering non-existent foreclosure relief services to their targets. Services are priced at a relatively low rate of $400 to $500 or more. Homeowners are promised representation with their bank and more time in their home to sort out a solution to their financial problems. Instead, they get scammed, and are left shocked and angry, and, unfortunately, still facing foreclosure.

These scams are especially effective on those who don’t understand their options in foreclosure. Scammers often target the elderly or those whose first language isn’t English, which somehow makes these scams feel all the more menacing and repugnant.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From the Fraudulent Foreclosure Relief Scam

First and foremost, educate your clients and your community. Make sure it’s clear that these sorts of services aren’t illegal, and selling them door-to-door isn’t either. However, your clients should be aware that before they write someone a check or give someone their hard-earned cash, they should verify the person’s identity and real-world capabilities.

As real estate professionals, we’re negatively affected by this scam too. When foreclosure rates are high, more homes begin to sell below market rate, thus reducing our total commission earnings. This scam accelerates foreclosure for its victims because they’re being swindled out of money they could otherwise use to legitimately resolve their issues.

4. Short-term Rental Overpayment

This is a version of a widely used phone scam that criminals use to target the elderly in the United States. This scam recently made its way into the real estate industry, affecting owners of short-term rental properties and property managers. Here’s how it works:

A would-be renter contacts a property manager of a short-term rental they find on Airbnb or similar. They start a conversation about a stay with special circumstances—like an extended length stay for a reduced rate—and offer to book privately, outside of the Airbnb booking engine.

At first, this seems advantageous to the property manager, who may be eager to avoid paying Airbnb their cut. Once the scammer senses that enthusiasm, they spring the trap.

The scammer will “accidentally” overpay the landlord for their stay, usually using a stolen credit card. They’ll say something like, “I was supposed to pay $600, but I mistakenly paid $6,000!” They then ask for a refund.

Since they’re not using the Airbnb payment platform, the landlord may feel pressured to refund their overpayment using a more direct method like the Venmo or Cash App. When the property manager relents and repays, the scammer takes the money and runs.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From the Short-term Rental Overpayment Scam

This scam hits real estate agents who also work as property managers hard. The best way to protect yourself is to always, always, ALWAYS use established booking and payment platforms. The extra 3% simply isn’t worth the risk of losing much more.

If you’ve got clients who manage their own rental properties, encourage them to carry fraud protection on their business accounts. That way, they’re covered if they fall victim to this scam.

5. Bait & Switch Loan Rates

The bait-and-switch loan rate scam is a tactic used by unscrupulous mortgage lenders to lock borrowers into loans they otherwise wouldn’t choose. Here’s how it works:

A lender will conditionally offer a homebuyer pre-approval for a loan pending a full review of their credit. However, what they won’t mention is a small item stated in the terms of service: the homebuyer’s deposit required to start the application process will become non-refundable should they choose to back out after a specific date.

The lender then reviews the buyer’s application and will approve them for a loan, but at a higher rate than initially quoted. Many people don’t read the terms of service unless expressly told to do so (and an honest mortgage broker would encourage their clients in this direction).

Once past their cancellation date, the buyer then feels pressure to accept this new rate to avoid losing their deposit.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From the Bait & Switch Loan Rate Scam

The best thing you can do for your clients is to maintain a list of reputable, reliable lenders in your area. By doing business with reputable lenders, you and your clients can avoid falling victim to this fine-print scam.

Remind your clients that the mortgage industry is made up of people, and there are going to be good lenders and bad lenders out there. Your list is a group of people you’ve worked with directly, such that you can vouch for their skill, care, and ability and feel comfortable referring your clients to them.

Remember, as a real estate agent, we’ve got skin in this game, too. Using high-quality, reliable lenders results in a higher loan approvals rate for your clients, plus more successful closings and increased revenue for you. We’ve got a symbiotic relationship with the mortgage industry. The more we promote high-quality operators, the less oxygen the sketchy ones will get.

6. ‘The Invisible Home’

This scam is especially prevalent in very competitive markets like the one we’re experiencing right now. Here’s how it works:

A “property owner” will offer a home FSBO or even pose as an agent and advertise a home as “coming to the market soon.” When people start to reach out for more information, the scammers will weave a tale about how this is a “confidential listing” and “for privacy reasons” they can’t give all the details about the property yet.

The crooks will then share a bunch of really attractive listing information, appealing photos, and highlight updates, renovations, and other details designed to entice the potential buyer. The interested buyer may feel they’re getting an exclusive sneak peek, but conveniently, nothing can actually be verified with a third party.

Even with these obvious red flags, buyers in a competitive seller’s market may consider putting an offer on a home with contingencies. That’s when the scammer asks for a “good faith deposit” just to make sure the buyer is serious.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From the Invisible Home Scam

This is pretty straightforward. If someone is trying to sell your client a house but can’t provide the address, it’s a scam, plain and simple. Don’t let your clients get excited about a property that doesn’t exist.

This scam really burns real estate agents because it wastes our time, energy—and in the worst-case scenario—our clients’ money. Establish strict protocols on how your offers are written to protect you and your clients. It isn’t our job to serve the whims of our clients—it’s our job to protect their best interests.

7. Lipstick on a Pig

If you’ve spent any time as a listing agent, you’ve probably encountered situations with your sellers when they’ve under-emphasized some features on their seller’s disclosure statements. This isn’t uncommon—sellers see their home in the best light possible, and a gentle correction on our part usually brings things back in line.

However, scammers do more than over-generalize—they out-and-out lie. Here’s how the Lipstick on a Pig scam works:

Knowing that a home has major defects like mold, foundation issues, or water or fire damage, a property owner will knowingly make alterations to the property to hide these defects, then lie about them on the seller’s disclosure statement (SDS). Many of these scammers will actually get a home inspector in on the act, contracting for a fraudulent home inspection report that they can then offer to buyers as proof of a property’s clean bill of health. This may also discourage a buyer from getting their own inspection done.

After a sale has closed and the defect is discovered, there is virtually no recourse for the buyer unless they can prove that the seller committed real estate fraud—something that’s difficult to do since this often becomes a “he said—she said” scenario.

How to Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) From the Lipstick on a Pig Scam

Educate your clients about the homebuying process, especially their right to an inspection period on any potential property. To be clear, it isn’t illegal or unethical to offer buyers a home inspection report. But to discourage or flat-out deny a buyer the ability to do their own inspection is a clear sign that something fishy is going on.

As a real estate agent, you have to protect yourself as well. We’re obligated to disclose any knowledge of material defects of a property or first-hand knowledge of attempts to cover up said defects. You open yourself and your broker up to litigation since non-disclosure isn’t protected by errors and omissions insurance. Your failure to disclose can become an incredibly costly mistake to make.

Bottom Line

Real estate scams are real, and they affect our industry in real and costly ways. Educating yourself and your clients about the most prevalent real estate scams and learning how to protect both you and your clients is a crucial line of defense that will help make real estate scams like these a thing of the past.

We can also help combat real estate scams by staying in close communication with our industry peers. Join The Close’s Real Estate Agent Mastermind Group on Facebook. This community of professionals is growing every day. It’s a great spot to learn from agents across the country about what’s happening in their business and how you can use their experiences to level up your real estate career.

The post 7 Sneaky Real Estate Scams + How To Protect Your Clients (& Yourself) appeared first on The Close.

She had to run from a vacant listing because of drug dealers, and her office was robbed…

That’s when Sonia decided to buy a gun.

Here’s Sonia in the Chicago Tribune explaining why:

“I want to choose and have control of my own destiny, because at this point, I should have been dead.”

Curious about the increasing number of stories like Sonia’s and the alarming NAR report from last year that found 25% of male Realtors carried guns, we decided to dig deeper.

We talked to Realtors who carried weapons during showings to find out their stories.

We also looked more closely at the data to see what the heck was going on… Why are so many Realtors carrying weapons?

Here’s what we found out.

The Weapons Realtors Carry: by The Numbers

While most of us read the NAR report from last year that said 25% of male Realtors carry guns, there was a far more alarming statistic buried in the data.

The fact that more than 50% of all Realtors carried weapons of some kind to showings.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the types of weapons Realtors carried:

Why so Many Realtors are Afraid

According to NAR statistics, ~3% of Realtors self reported being victims of physical crime on the job. While that may seem like a relatively low number, it’s important to remember that the overall average for the country hovers around 21 crimes per 1,000 people, or a little under 2 percent.

While the raw percentages of Realtors who have self reported being victims of crime on the job isn’t that high, many Realtors still fear going to work every day.

For example, 44% of female agents felt afraid at open houses or in vacant or model homes.

Here’s a quick breakdown of areas where Realtors felt afraid:Somewhat surprisingly, there was very little difference in levels of fear between Realtors who worked in suburban or urban areas. Realtors also reported feeling safer in small towns and rural areas than in urban or suburban areas.

Interested in this article and want more? Subscribe to The Close and get weekly articles sent to your inbox.

The National Association of Realtors Stance on Weapons

Curious about the official take NAR had on weapons, we reached out to NAR’s Managing Director of Media Communications, Sara Wiskerchen to get their opinion. Here’s what she told us:

“The National Association of Realtors® doesn’t have a position on the legal use of firearms or any other personal safety device used by agents. However, NAR recommends that before agents arm themselves with any self-defense weapon, including firearms, sprays or Tasers, that they know their local and state laws and brokerage’s policies to ensure they are conforming to all applicable rules and regulations. Also, homeowners always have the right to prohibit agents from carrying guns onto their property.”

While this statement was fairly even handed, it doesn’t quite address an issue that many Realtors were concerned with.

Safety training for guns or other weapons.

An amazing 55% of Realtors said their associations should provide gun training as a member benefit.

In Their Own Words: Realtors Who Carry Weapons

As you might imagine, the inherent risk of meeting strangers in out of the way locations, and the idea of leveling the playing field was the most common reason Realtors carried weapons.

Here’s Virginia Realtor Chris Cloud explaining his take on Realtor safety:

Virginia Realtor Chris Cloud, Weapon Carried: Gun

“My wife and I both concealed carry while showing properties. I carry always. The “set-up” too easily favors the predator. They set the destination, they set the meeting time. It’s “neutral” territory–neither My place or Theirs, so crime is easier.

Realtors are Vulnerable.”

Florida Realtor, Real Estate Investor & Writer Alison Bethell, Weapon Carried: Gun

“I started out with a Taurus revolver with a pearl handle. It was recommended to me by a firearms store because it’s lightweight, easy to carry and doesn’t have a lot of recoil. I also really liked the aesthetics of the pearl handle. I also had a Glock 9mm but mostly just used that to practice at the shooting range since I found it too heavy to carry.

At the time I carried, I owned a real estate brokerage and investment properties as well as a bar and nightclub. Some of my properties weren’t in the best neighborhoods and I also had a property management division where I managed about 20 of my client’s properties.

I went to the shooting range regularly and it built up my confidence the more I practiced. I only carried when going to my bar and nightclub and when picking up rent or meeting contractors at the properties. Thankfully I never had to use my weapon but it just gave me the feeling of added security once I got used to carrying it. I had tenants threaten me(mostly because they were getting evicted or didn’t want to pay rent etc), I even had to get a protective order against one and called the police on at least 2-3 tenants over the years.”

Retired US Navy Commander, Leadership Speaker, and Realtor, Mary Kelly, PHD: Weapon Carried: Gun

“I started carrying my 9 mm as a realtor when I found cocaine during a listing appointment. I realized then that not all clients are trustworthy, and I also learned that is it necessary to fire clients who are not a good fit for me.”

Tennessee Realtor Chad Baur, Weapon Carried: Gun

“It is a privilege that I am allowed to carry a firearm in defense of my family and myself and today we experienced the benefit of that privilege firsthand. I am extremely grateful to have not had to use my weapon (I value human life quite highly and I hope I never need to harm another person).”
Via: Concealed Nation

Connecticut Realtor Jerry Diorio, Weapon Carried: Gun

“I don’t leave home without my Ruger 38. Haven’t had to use it. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.”

Via Facebook

Idaho Realtor Christine Martinez, Weapon Carried: Gas Gun

“I carry a gas gun and before any open house or meeting anyone I place it on me where I can use it!!! Any unyousel feel before entering a house I go with my gun.”

Via Facebook

Wyoming Realtor Jill Kamber Knox, Weapon Carried: Gun

“ Yes, always! .38 special locked & loaded. Hopefully I never need to use it. Always go with my gut & my office & husband know where I’m going & who I’m showing. I will take a pic of vehicle & plate just in case.”

Via Facebook

San Antonio Realtor, Joe Edward Herrera II, Weapon Carried: Gun

“As a former sheriff deputy I’ve seen first hand what could happen if your not prepared, so I carry my glock .40 at all times. I havent had to use it as a Realtor but id rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.”

Via Facebook

Utah Realtor, Jennie Hendricks, Weapon Carried: Gun

“Always carry. .38 revolver- haven’t used it defensively, but don’t keep it a secret that I carry.”

Via Facebook

Pensacola Realtor, Barbara Hobbs, Weapon Carried: Gun

“I carry a Glock 19, have not had to use it- but while showing a few houses today we went to a foreclosure- opened the lockbox an the door was open… Just pushed- Thankfully it was my boyfriend and I looking… He was carrying, mine was in my bag- I got mine, he went in took his out of his pocket- and we did a sweep- I would never have gone into a few if I didn’t have my gun with me…. “

Via Facebook

Pennsylvania Realtor, Leah Christine, Weapon Carried: Gun

“A .38 special, I’ve never had to use it but I’m glad I have it with me in case I do.”

Via Facebook

Over to You

Do you carry a weapon as a Realtor or know someone who does? We want to hear your story. Hit us up on Twitter or leave a comment.

The post Shock Study: More Than 50% of Realtors Carry Weapons on Showings appeared first on The Close.