September 25 2015
This month, we're publishing content from a course on Realtor Safety. This is the ninth in a series of articles that teaches Realtors how to prevent being a victim of crime. Read the previous article here.
Even though you have taken all the steps possible to ensure that the person you are meeting with is safe, you can never be 100% sure., That's why it's best to follow a safe showing routine.
Arrive Early
Make sure that you arrive early enough to the appointment that you can prepare the home and be ready before the prospect arrives. Expect the prospect to be running early.
Parking
Generally it is best to park in the street where possible so the prospect can park in the driveway—and so that they cannot block you in. However, if you can't park in the street, the following are some guidelines according to driveway type:
Regardless of where you park, it is important to remember that it's not that significant. The truth is that if you are being chased, your best bet is to run to a neighbor's house because the time it takes you to unlock the car door, open it, and get in, it is likely that the person chasing you will reach you before you have had a chance to close and lock the car door.
If you can't arrive early, call the prospect to attempt to postpone the appointment long enough to allow you to arrive early. However, if that's not possible, be sure to open the lock box and front door (and/or back door) without turning your back to the prospect.
Every home is a little different, so you may need to adjust the following procedure to meet the needs of the layout.
Assuming you have arrived early, you'll need to prepare the home for safe showing. The following are things you'll want to make sure to do.
There is a school of thought that tells agents to lock the exterior doors during a showing to prevent an intruder from entering the home. While this may be a good practice with an established client, it elevates the risk with a new prospect. Someone who comes up on a home during a showing and enters through an unlocked door is committing a crime of opportunity. Crimes of opportunity are usually profit crimes (theft) committed by criminals who are typically inexperienced and therefore easily startled and scared off. They are not looking for a confrontation, they are looking for a quick easy score. The greater risk to your safety is the new prospect in the home with you.
Now that you have prepared the home, it's time to meet the prospect. The following are safety best practices.
Greeting the prospect
As mentioned in a previous section, always greet the prospect outside. However, in that section we were talking about greeting the prospect in the event that you were arriving after the client. This section is focusing on the scenario that you have arrived early, prepared the home, and are waiting for the client outside.
Keep in mind that the greeting sets the tone and an authoritative tone makes you less attractive to a predator with a "power motive." If at all possible, "take the high ground" and position yourself so that you are above the prospect when they come up to shake your hand or come close during the initial greeting. A front step is a great place to position yourself. Additionally, do not come off that ground to come to him/her, let him/her come to you.
I also mentioned using a tour of the outside of the home as a way of feeling out the prospect and giving you an opportunity to unlock the front and back door. During this outside tour, if there are outbuildings be sure they are unlocked prior to the tour. DO NOT ENTER outbuildings with a prospect.
Regardless of the circumstances, when entering the home, be sure to follow the procedures outlined earlier for safely opening a door.
Read the next article in this series now: What Is This Feeling?
September is Realtor® Safety Month. Throughout the month, RE Technology will be publishing excerpts from an educational course on Realtor Safety in partnership with safety app creator Real Safe Agent. Here's the list of articles that have been published to date:
Please consider sharing this important information with your colleagues, your agents (brokers), and membership (MLSs and associations)!