Your Safety Matters!

An excerpt from the North Carolina Real Estate Agent Safety Guide

(This booklet is published as a cooperative venture of the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® and the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.)

Real estate sales and rental agents routinely find themselves in situations where they are alone with clients or customers about whom they have very little information. The very nature of showing real estate to prospective buyers and tenants who are virtual strangers can make agents, both men and women, susceptible to becoming victims of violent crimes.

Recognizing the need for greater attention to real estate agent safety, the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® and the North Carolina Real Estate Commission agreed to cooperate in promoting the education of real estate licensees about agent safety. Through the leadership of the REALTOR® Association’s North Carolina Real Estate Safety Council, this safety guide was published to assist in this educational effort. This guide contains some common sense safety tips that have been compiled from crime victims and real estate associations across the country.

The North Carolina Real Estate Safety Council encourages every real estate firm to implement a formal safety program. Moreover, every real estate agent can and should individually utilize the safety tips addressed in this guide to practice in a safe manner, even if your company does not have a formal safety program.

The four basic safety practices are:

1. Identify the person you are working with before you join him or her alone, in a car or a house. Preferably meet him or her at your office, copy his or her driver’s license and make sure someone from your office knows where you’ll be going with the person.
2. Always carry your cell phone with you and make sure it is fully charged and has reception. Program 911 into speed dial and don’t hesitate to call for help. Make sure your method of communication utilizes the most current technology.
3. Trust your instincts. If you have a bad feeling, don’t second-guess what it’s telling you. Listen to your gut feeling and protect yourself.
4. Never assume you are safe.

The North Carolina Real Estate agent Safety Guide provides an additional 12 general safety tips for licensees. The Safety Guide can be found on the NC Real Estate Commission’s website by clicking here.