Carl emphasized again, “She had done everything right.
She had her purse locked in the car. She had her phone in
her hand. There was no time to call anyone. There is no time
to reach for a weapon, or a phone, or even to yell out when
they take you by surprise.”
As Carl pushed his heartache aside and recounted the
darkest time of his family’s life, I tried to force my undivided
attention to his speech. But part of my mind was reeling
about how many times I had put myself in situations that
looked just like Beverly’s - or worse. I couldn’t stop thinking
about how many times I had driven out to someone’s house
to sign papers with them and the only one who knew where I
had gone was Google Maps. I lost count of how many doors
I’ve walked through to sign closing papers with people I
had spoken to on the phone, but never met in person. I
thought about all the times someone had met me at their
gate after the sun had gone down, had me follow them into
the community, through a front door that was locked behind
me, and to the kitchen table.
I am beyond thankful to be able to say that all of these
encounters were delightful and no harm ever came from
them. But that doesn’t make it any less foolish on my part.
Carl has made a second career of traveling the country and
telling his mother’s story with the hope of protecting real
estate professionals from this ever happening again. His
advice to you is this:
• Know your client.
• Examine your marketing.
• Have buddies.
• Safe showings & open houses.
• Trust your gut.
• Keep the conversation going.
Carl also says to “Cultivate safer
practices by being aware of what
you’re doing well, and asking
for feedback on what you can
improve.”
In the wake of Beverly Carter’s death, hundreds of real
estate professionals have signed a pledge to change how
they operate in an effort to ensure their safety.
The pledge reads:
I pledge to...
• Under no circumstances show a home to a stranger
without first meeting them at the office or asking them to
submit identification.
• Educate my clients that open houses are a safety concern
both for the homeowner and myself.
• Limit open houses as a marketing strategy and/or make
prudent and safe decisions about my open house marketing
efforts.
• Follow my intuition, and not step into situations that I feel
uneasy about.
• Use the buddy system whenever I am unsure or uneasy
about a showing or meeting
• Make myself available to my fellow agents as a “showing-
buddy” should they ever feel the need to take someone
along or feel unsafe.
• Seriously consider the nature of my personal marketing,
and its potential impact on my safety.
One of the suggested tools for Realtor® safety is the Safe
Harbor app, a tool developed from the Arkansas Realtor®
Association. You can find it for both Apple and Android
devices. Their mission is centered on providing a safe,
public place for real estate professionals to meet clients, do
quick signing transactions and be able to feel safe.
Safe Harbor also has a pledge:
Visibly display the Realtor® Safe Harbor participation logo at
my business. Have the location of my business displayed on
maps and mobile apps indicating participation in program.
Let any real estate agent from any company use reception
space to meet new clients and verify their identities. Treat all
real estate agents utilizing program with respect and care.
Within the hour of my return back to Fort Myers after our
training, I made a phone call to the customer who I was
supposed to meet at their house the following day, and had
them reschedule to meet me at a participating business
nearby.
Something I’d love to see for our association is a program
where real estate agents can establish their own buddy
system, within or across brokerages to ensure each other’s
safety in showings, taking clients around, signings, whatever
it may be. If we can’t work to protect each other, who can?
The purpose of this article is not to scare you, although, I’m
sure I did. So I’d like to share a quote from my favorite book.
“God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of
power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
I find truth in this even from a professional standpoint. Our
knowledge is our power. Sharing your knowledge, especially
in a way that can help or protect someone else, is an act of
love. And being mindful of safety, and having the wisdom to
evaluate and even change potentially dangerous business
practices is a measure of your self-discipline .
My hope for all of us in the real estate industry is that we
take these things to heart and continue to develop ourselves
and our businesses in ways that keeps each other safe,
prosperous, and always looking toward a brilliant future.
RPCRA.ORG | SEPT/OCT 2017
9