Listen to the words of NAR president, Charles McMillan: "Knowledge, Awareness, Empowerment. These are the core components of REALTOR® Safety. And helping our members understand the risks they face can mean the difference between life and death. REALTOR® Safety Week is a great time to remind all of us to know the dangers we face every day, to be aware of our surroundings, and empower ourselves with precautions and preparations so that we can avoid risky situations. I am asking Associations and brokers to make this a year-round commitment.”

Just a few short years ago the average Realtor would not have equated his or her job with other dangerous professions. That connection is quickly changing and only getting worse. Consider the recent facts that lead to new hazardous situations.

Our economy has been in the worst downturn since the Depression. Many homes are being foreclosed on and the worst, according to economists, may not be over. In a time when many have their entire net worth wrapped up in a home that is now upside down in value versus the amount owed people are getting desperate. This can play out in a number of scenarios, none of which are good for the realtor.

See if a couple of these don’t resonate with you.

• The new listing is anxious to sell. The bank is breathing down their neck for payments past due and money is tight. So along comes an offer that, for this time and market, is typical – way below the amount owed and further below the asking price. As the listing agent you of course have to present the offer to the seller which you know it is going to be rejected. What you do not realize is that tensions are high within the household and you’re walking up at a particularly bad time. As you present the offer all of the financial troubles seem to come rushing out of the seller’s mouth like water over Niagara Falls and you suddenly have a sick feeling that this situation is not good. What could happen?

Another familiar scene in today’s market:

• A seemingly exuberant client called late last night wanting to see an abandoned home first thing in the morning – “Before I have to be at work”, he said. He had driven by it and noticed your sign, liked the curb appeal and felt this house was perfect for him and his family. Normally you would schedule an appointment at the office for some preliminary questions, a little relationship building and to see if the potential buyer was on the up and up – all the things a safety conscious realtor should do. But after a few minutes of begging and pleading you agree to meet him there at 7:00 am. Of course you play out the typical “good agent” duties. You enter the home first, turn on the lights and set the stage for hopefully a good showing. Five minutes later, however, a pickup truck pulls up with not one but three men. A red flag goes up in your mind: “This is not good.”

What is common to each of these depictions?

Besides the fact that the economy is setting both of these stages all too often any more, that tensions are running high for desperate home owners and the well known fact that as the economy worsens “low-lifers” take the low road – potentially setting you up for disaster – the common element was the gut feeling the agent had just before things turned sour.

We recently sent you a report on the hazards of being a Realtor, some of the things you can do personally and together as an office to protect one another. In many of the web sites and blogs frequented by realtors lately two more steps are stressed:

1. It pays to take steps to protect yourself, including the use of cell phones, plans of action and carrying personal defense items such as mace, stun guns and the like.

2. Go with your gut feeling! Don’t consider yourself paranoid or worrying needlessly regarding your safety – especially in situations when you get a sick sense that something is wrong. Remember the old adage: If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck it probably is a duck. If a situation looks bad, feels bad and gives you a sick sense you probably are in a situation you need to excuse yourself from.

At those times it is comforting to know that you have taken steps to assure your safety. Does someone in your office know of your whereabouts? Do you let “buyers” enter a room before you so that the door is always close? Do you carry essential elements of personal protection? It is not paranoid to take steps to be safe.

To access this report in .pdf format, GO HERE

All Out Security Solutions has put together self defense and self protection items in packages particularly useful for the Realtor that wants to return safely home every night. At the same time we are adding free bonus items to those that order these Realtor packages. Rising stress levels and an increase in showing foreclosed properties because of the economy are putting you at an ever increasing risk – not to mention those that purposefully put you in situations because they think you are an easy target.

Check out our three specific Realtor personal protection packages by clicking on the links below.

Do it before your next showing.

 

Report Presented by:
All Out Security Solutions LLC
Goose Creek, SC
http://www.aoss-selfdefense.com