Lynda: I have had my husband to go with me or a friend ~ especially in a large, multi-level house. I leave my purse in the trunk of my car or leave it at home and only carry my driver's license.

Oct 05, 2009 07:03 AM

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

No, Donna we don't show in pairs. If someone calls in at the office and wants to see a property and we have not met them before, then we exercise caution. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Oct 05, 2009 07:05 AM

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Cynthia: We have found that serious buyers will come into the office and go through our Buyer Consultation and that includes finding a lender. I think that we have all had the situation where a caller just insists on seeing a house and does not want to come into the office.

Oct 05, 2009 07:07 AM

Rainmaker
442,958

Marney Kirk

Cummings & Co. Realtors - Towson, MD

Towson, Maryland Real Estate

Sandy, we MUST BE CAREFUL! I won't meet a buyer at the house without some sort of prior meeting, or I refer them out to an agent who should have a buyer meeting with them (since I couldn't represent them as a buyer's agent on my listing anyway)...

Though negative/scary, we MUST be prepared, you are VERY RIGHT. You can never be too cautious, especially with how much information about each of us is out there on the web!!!!

Oct 05, 2009 07:34 AM

Ambassador
1,726,834

Richard Weisser

Richard Weisser Realty - Newnan, GA

Richard Weisser Retired Real Estate Professional

Sandy...

Agent safety is always a top priority. If a potential client doesn't want to play by your rules, it's probably not worth it!

Oct 05, 2009 10:08 AM

Rainer
36,592

David Williams

CaryRealEstate.com - Cary, NC

Sandy -

Timely post - unfortunately we had a female on-site agent attacked just a few weeks ago - she did survive and they were able to make an arrest - it was certainly a wake up call in our area.ume

Here is the local news report.

Oct 05, 2009 02:01 PM

#10

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Marney: I have never been scared but 1 time and will probably write a blog post about that to follow this post, however it only takes one time. Thanks for your comment.

Oct 05, 2009 03:00 PM

#11

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Richard: I stopped be a pop tart agent a long time ago ~ I don't pop up and run every time that some one calls. I like to play by the rules and in the right arena. Thanks for commenting on my post.

Oct 05, 2009 03:01 PM

#12

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Cary: OMG ~ that is awful. It makes me sick to think about such things happening. Hope the agent will recover.

Oct 05, 2009 03:03 PM

#13

Rainmaker
481,664

Lana Robbins Realtor ® Licensed Real Estate Broker

Aloha Kai Real Estate - Clearwater, FL

Licensed in Florida, Washington, and Hawai'i

Hi Sandy. Specifically for open houses my husband always goes with me to host them as a matter of safety. ~ Lana

Oct 05, 2009 03:31 PM

#14

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Lana: My husband has also gone with me, especially if it is a multi-level large house.

Oct 05, 2009 04:16 PM

#15

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530,903

Mirela Monte

Buyers' Choice Realty - North Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach Real Estate

We have a framed poster in a conspicuous place in our office that says: "it is standard procedure to photocopy the Buyers ID's before an Agent shows them property". We meet all our leads at the office and go from there. Just taking a license tag is not safe enough. You should never do an open house by yourself. Vacant homes are also risky. Never show property without taking proper precautions ALWAYS! The one time you don't adhere to the system is the one time you could be... DEAD!

Oct 05, 2009 04:29 PM

#16

Ambassador
530,903

Mirela Monte

Buyers' Choice Realty - North Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach Real Estate

Good subject; good post! Now featured on the Optimist Group.

Oct 05, 2009 04:31 PM

#17

Rainer
80,304

David Painter

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Sandy: We just have to stop and think about what we are doing BEFORE we run out and do something risky.

Oct 05, 2009 04:44 PM

#18

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Mirela: As usual you have nailed it. I really like the idea of making a copy of the driver's license.

Thanks for the feature.

Oct 05, 2009 04:48 PM

#19

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

David: It is the people like you, who keep the rest of us safe and from making impulsive decisions.

Oct 05, 2009 04:49 PM

#20

Rainer
263,372

Jean Terry

Keller Williams Realty Spartanburg, S.C. - Spartanburg, SC

Sandy, We can never be 'TOO CAREFUL' when it comes to our safety. Trust your gut feeling.

Oct 06, 2009 01:24 PM

#21

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Jean: I agree with you 100% and you know that I have always got your back! Just Call!

Oct 07, 2009 02:19 PM

#22

Rainmaker
73,213

Annie Pinsker-Brown

Stage to Sell - LA Home Staging - Los Angeles, CA

Stage to Sell, Los Angeles Home Stager

Sandy, these are great points and something Stagers should follow as well. One thing I always recommend to my clients is that they put their knife blocks (which are usually left out on the countertops) away into a cabinet before open houses and showings. This is for the safety of the listing agent.

Oct 07, 2009 04:21 PM

#23

Rainer
157,132

Sandy Childs

Keller Williams Realty - Spartanburg, SC

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

Annie: That is an excellent point. I would have never thought about that. From now on I will take you advise. Thanks!

Oct 07, 2009 04:34 PM

#24

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Sandy Childs

Realtor - Spartanburg, SC

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Lori Bowers posted a blog about real estate agents being safe and wanted to know what other agents do to stay safe. My comments have turned into this blog post. Here are some of the things that we do at our Keller Williams office in Spartanburg, South Carolina:

The first thing we try to do is have the prospect to meet us at the office.

We always make sure that someone knows where we are going.

We have a code word in case things should go bad.

We try to go in pairs.

Try to arrive after the prospect, park behind them and call the office or a buddy with the make, model and tag number of the car, you can fumble around with your papers while you are doing this.

If possible, have the seller to hang around.

Always let the prospect walk infront of you ~ never behind you.

Always wear shoes that you could run in ~ if you have to.

Always carry a large flashlight with you, I recommend the black Maglight. If necessary you could hit an attacked with it ~ then run like heck!

Never wear flashy jewelry or anything around your neck that could be used to strangle you.

Refuse to show the house.

When you are doing an Open House only have one door unlocked. Try to keep up with how many people are in the house, especially of the house is more than one level.

Always listen to your inner voice ~ if something does not feel right ~ make an excuse and get out. Trust your instincts.

Hope this helps, Hopefully none of us will never have anything bad or scary happen to us ~ however ~ it always pays to be prepared.

Let me clarify that this is only when you have a situation where you are called upon to meet a potential buyer, that you have never met before, at a house. This is especially important if the house is vacant.

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