Video Transcript:
Hey there, I’m Kyle Eaves with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. In today’s video, I want to talk about some of the dangers of being a real estate agent and some of the safety concerns agents need to be aware of. I also want to inform you as the consumer as to why we ask some of the questions that we do when you inquire about homes or seeing properties or listing properties. There’s a reason we ask a lot of the questions that we do, we’re not just trying to pry into your information, but we’re trying to protect ourselves and ensure our safety when we’re going to meet with people. Now, I’ve been in the business for about 7 years and I can count a handful of situations where I’ve been in scenarios where I’ve felt a little bit concerned about my safety in the situation I was getting into. Sometimes in certain neighborhoods I felt a little out of place, sometimes going into vacant homes that are a little bit rundown where you see signs that someone may have been living there, you know, squatters and so fourth. You just never know who’s going to pop out of a closet or a doorway, so that can be kind of iffy. Also, when showing homes to a potential buyer who shows up and they’re not exactly what you expected, so you’re like, who are these people? Find yourself alone in a house with them and it’s kind of scary, even as a guy. I can imagine as a female real estate agent, it could be something that would cause alarm bells to go off when you’re in a home with a random person. Part of the reason I think we are susceptible as real estate agents is because of how much visibility we have for people to just go online and find us. If you go to any major real estate portal like Zillow or realtor.com and type in Atlanta, GA under the “find REALTORS” tab, you can look at the photos, the contact information, you can get a real estate agent’s email and cell phone number very easily, look at who they are by going to their personal website and reading about them. Because you’ve got access to things like their cell phone number, I have heard of situations where, more so with women than men, where they’re getting stalkers, creepers or people sending them lewd photos, saying they’re going to do stuff to them, harassing them, and that can get kind of scary because you never know who these people are. The fact that we’re just so visible as agents and have to put ourselves out there as the nature of our business, but it also leaves us open to people being able to find us really easy and find our contact information. Another one of the things that is kind of a concern, and this is actually an article from 2015 about Redfin and some of the new features that they’re adding to their website, along with other real estate website and apps, gives consumers on-demand access to listings and the ability to request property showings. It’s the way society is gravitating and in real estate it’s created demand for quicker responses, resulting in less relationship based buying and selling in my opinion. People are now inquiring about seeing properties and want to have the door opened within 30 minutes, and often they won’t even give their full name, their contact information, etc. It can create a very dangerous situation where the agent enters a home with someone they don’t really know.
Recent media coverage of attacks on agents:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2019/01/20/three-arrested-death-utah/
https://wjla.com/news/local/real-estate-agent-killed-model-home-anne-arundel-county
https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/real-estate-agent-killed-his-car-holmesburg
https://abcnews.go.com/US/arkansas-realtor-beverly-carter-targeted-woman-worked/story?id=25860583
https://www.inman.com/2018/03/21/real-estate-agent-hosting-open-house-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-san-francisco/
https://theblast.com/r-kelly-real-estate-agent-death-threats-investigation/
Agent Safety Resources:
https://www.nar.realtor/safety
Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers
Metro Atlanta Home Group
4073 Lavista Road, Suite 373
Atlanta, GA 30084
O: (404) 843-2500
M: (404) 513-5987
F: (770) 491-1888