During the spring and summer, realtors host and abundance of open houses and give private showings of their clients’ homes. If you’re a realtor and show a home to a potential buyer, you always have to make sure you know how to protect yourself. You can take numerous easy steps to accomplish this, so here are some that will help you stay safe when you’re with a homebuyer.
If a potential buyer calls your office and acts suspiciously, such as not providing any required information, requesting to view a home at strange hours, or not wanting meet at your office before seeing a property, refuse to arrange a showing with them and make other agents in your office aware. By doing so, you won’t only be protecting yourself, but you will also be protecting any other agents this person might have planned to contact.
Before you go out for a showing, you should always let a coworker know where you will be and the time of the showing. Make sure the coworker has your exact address and phone number, and always keep both phones turned on during the time you’re out.
If you’re showing a home in an area that doesn’t feel safe to you, you should definitely ask another agent to accompany you. Safety comes first, so don’t feel embarrassed about asking someone to join you. In these situations, it’s always better to have another agent come with you instead of risking going by yourself.
Whenever you show a home to a buyer, be sure to have them in your sight as much a possible. Don’t make it look as though you’re helicoptering over them, but keep them within your vision. You can do this by having the potential buyer lead the way as you’re going from room to room, especially if you’re going up or down a staircase.
As soon as you’re done showing a home, always make sure that all of the doors and windows are locked to prevent anyone from breaking in. If you return to a home and see any signs of a possible entry, call a police officer and wait outside for them to reach the scene.
When you arrive at a home, make sure your car is parked in a location where you can easily make a quick getaway if the buyer starts exhibiting threatening behavior. You may want to consider parking in the street; that way, if anything happens, you can just drive straight away without having to worry about maneuvering out of the driveway.
It would also greatly benefit you to enroll in some self-defense classes when trying to heighten your protection. You can even get a group of agents together from your office and work out a time when you can all take the classes together. These sessions will provide you with another level of defense tactics that you can use if they’re ever needed, while also working as bonding and team-building activities for you and your fellow agents. Besides knowing some self-defense moves, you may also want to carry some pepper spray as another way to hinder an attacker.
Whether you’re a new or experienced agent, there isn’t such a thing as being too safe. It’s sad to say, but you can’t be too trusting in this day and age, so the importance of knowing how to protect yourself can’t be understated. If you follow these steps, you will feel secure and be much more prepared as you get ready to show a home to a buyer.
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