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3 Ways Your Lockbox Can Keep You Safe
A tool that real estate agents use every day could be a powerful ally in staying safe on the job. That's great news for REALTORS®, 77 percent of whom report being always or often alone when showing a home to a new prospect, according to the WAV Group Real Estate Victimization Study. In fact, 51 percent of REALTORS® would like more safety support from their brokerage or association—making safety the most requested support category. But did you know that one tool that your brokerage or association provides, the humble lockbox, can help you stay safer in the field? Let's take a look at how. 1. Tap Into Your Lockbox's Agent Safety Feature Technology has changed the lockbox for the better, enabling the introduction of all kinds of new functionality. Today, REALTORS® can use their smartphone not just to open and manage their lockbox, but also to signal for help when needed. Last October, NAR subsidiary SentriLock introduced an Agent Safety feature that alerts your emergency contacts when you're in danger. It works by setting a timer that starts upon opening a lockbox with the SentriSmart™ mobile app. After approximately 90 seconds, the app asks the agent to confirm their safety status. REALTORS® can choose to confirm their safety and reset the timer for approximately 120 seconds later, confirm their safety and turn off the prompt, or send an alert with their location, time the lockbox was accessed and the agent's phone number to their emergency contacts. If the agent doesn't respond to the alert within 120 seconds, the app automatically assumes something is wrong and sends an alert. The feature is opt-in, which means that SentriSmart™ users need to activate this feature one time first before using it. To turn on the Agent Safety feature, go to Settings in the SentriSmart™ app to turn on the service. There, you can choose which contacts should be notified in case of emergency.

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Top Security Technologies for Realtors
Susan answered the call just as she was locking up the office for the day. On the other end, a man explained, "I'm flying out of town this evening, but I would really like to see one of your listings beforehand. Can you meet me there in an hour?" She knew this wasn't a safe idea, but she'd been trying to sell that property on the outskirts of town for months. Like Susan, many Realtors say "yes" in these all-too-common scenarios because staying competitive in the real estate industry often compels agents to put sales before safety. Fortunately, our online Technology Guide introduces Realtors to some of the top security technologies for protecting both themselves and the properties they represent. For instance, Real Safe Agent is a crime prevention system deployed throughout an MLS or association. The system drives collaboration between agents to keep each other safe by enabling them to use their mobile phone to discreetly request help from colleagues. Should an agent send an alert, all nearby agents receive a drop-in alert along with the meeting location. Other agents can then casually check in to determine if there's a threatening situation—without creating any undue uneasiness that could ruin a potential sale. Real Safe Agent also enables both the vetting of prospects and sharing of agents' post-meeting comfort levels with specific clients. Before a first-time meeting, agents can send a text message requesting that the prospect provide their name and a picture of themselves. The information is then stored in the system for safety reporting. After the meeting, agents may rate how comfortable they felt with a prospect. This rating is averaged with the responses from all agents who engaged with that client. The average rating is available to agents when they book an appointment with a new client who is in the system, giving them the opportunity to take precautions if warranted.

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