Most people would not rank being a real estate agent at the top of the list of dangerous careers. However, every day real estate agents risk their own personal safety when they meet a new client, drive clients to homes for sale, and show a vacant property.
What puts Realtors at Risk of Facing Violence?
- Most work alone.
Most real estate agents work independently. Yes, they most likely work for a real estate agency, but they meet with clients on their own, show properties by themselves, and conduct open houses alone. This itself can make them an easy target for potential criminals.
- Realtor’s clients are strangers.
Real estate agents work with a wide variety of clients that come from many different backgrounds. Unless the real estate agency requires background checks on clients, the realtor wouldn’t know if the client has a criminal background, a history of drug or alcohol abuse, or a mental health condition, which could put the agent in danger.
- Properties for sale can be located anywhere.
It could be located in a wealthy suburban area or an area of town where there’s a lot of crime. It could be a well-kept home still occupied by the owner or an abandoned or foreclosed property. There have also been situations where hostile former homeowners, squatters and vagrants, and other unsolicited guests, confront real estate agents unexpectedly.
- Open houses are advertised publicly.
Realtors rely on advertising open houses in the newspaper and on the Internet, specifically social media sites, to attract potential buyers. This would give a potential criminal time to plan an act of violence, by knowing where and how long a real estate agent will be at a certain property.
Tips to Stay Safe:
- Meet new clients in a public area.
- Don’t wear expensive jewelry or accessories.
- Avoid driving alone with new clients.
- Make sure a friend or co-worker is aware of your location.
- Work with a partner (if possible).
- Pay attention to the behavior of clients.
- Use technology to your advantage.
Technology is available that can track your location and send an alert to your emergency contact list or 911. While several apps and devices on the market propose to provide safety for a real estate agent, Kwema does so, but in a discreet fashion.
Kwema mitigates the safety risks that realtors face by providing wearables that activate an emergency protocol in 3 seconds. Our technology is designed to avoid adoption hurdles and training costs by being placed in something many employees already wear. With our smart badge holder and smart bracelet, we have already prevented and de-escalated crimes and incidents nationally and internationally, in many different industries.
To learn more about Kwema, visit us at kwema.co.