Keeping Yourself & Your Clients Safe: REALTOR® Safety Month

REALTORS® face job-related risks every day—working alone, meeting with strangers in unfamiliar places and sharing personal information. Incorporating safety practices can help mitigate risks and ensure safety. Keep reading for tips and tools for yourself and your clients to enhance safety for all.

For You

Safety Apps

Safety Tips

#1: Keep It Light
Show properties before dark. If you are going to be working after hours, advise your associate or first-line supervisor of your schedule. If you must show a property after dark, turn on all lights and open shades prior to going inside with your client.

#2: Checking In
When you have a new client, ask him/her to stop by your office and complete a Prospect Identification Form. Also, photocopy their driver’s license and retain this information at your office. Be certain to properly discard this personal information when you no longer need it.

#3: Touch Base
Always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back; leave the name and phone number of the client you are meeting and schedule a time for your office to call you to check in.

#4: Open Houses Aren’t Over Until They’re Over
Don’t assume that everyone has left the premises at the end of an open house. Have a colleague or buddy help you check all of the rooms and the backyard prior to locking the doors.

#5: Bring Up the Rear
When showing a home, always have your prospect walk in front of you. Don’t lead them, but rather, direct them from a position at least 3-4 arm lengths behind them. You can gesture for them to go ahead of you and say, for example, “The main bedroom is in the back of the house.”

#6: Wear your REALTOR® ID
Always wear visible company identification such as a badge, and always carry your photo ID card on you. These will be invaluable for identification if you need to get assistance.

Check out 50 more safety tips from NAR here.

Cyber Safety

It’s your responsibility as a REALTOR® to know how to protect yourself and your clients from cyber scams. Here’s how you can lessen your risk of a cyber attack:

• Use a Password Manager: Many password managers offer a yearly subscription plan that typically costs less than $30.
• Educate Your Team: Hackers only need one click on a fraudulent link to gain access to your entire company’s network. Reiterate the importance of being vigilant and using good judgment online for all staff.
• Hire an IT adviser: For a smaller brokerage, using an IT adviser may be a more affordable option than hiring someone full time. An advisor can set up a security plan and perform maintenance monthly, as needed.
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: This means there will be at least two methods required for any new login.
• Educate Your Clients: Even if it feels obvious, reiterate that they should never give personal information over the phone!

Articles & Videos

For Your Clients

Home Safety Tips

These easily implementable tips will help your clients keep their homes safe:

• Maintain your yard. Well-groomed landscaping is an important aspect of home security. By keeping your shrubbery trimmed, criminals are unable to hide behind them.
• Install outdoor lighting. A well-lit exterior discourages criminals from hiding in your landscaping, and makes your home less approachable. Lights with motion sensors are also a good idea.
• Update door and lock hardware. It’s always a good idea to replace your locks and make sure that all easily accessible entry points are secure when you move into a new home. This also includes evaluating window security and installing additional security measures if needed.
• Be aware of neighborhood activity. You know your neighborhood better than most, so be a good neighborhood watchdog and alert police to unusual activity.
• Consider installing an alarm system. Security systems are a major deterrent for criminals, but they don’t need to be expensive to be effective. The average burglary results in a $2,322 loss [FBI Crime in U.S., 2013], so an alarm system could easily be worth the cost and peace of mind it provides.
• Check batteries in fire and carbon monoxide detectors. In addition to taking preventative measures against burglary, another critical safety measure within your control is to protect your home from fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Lock doors and windows. Open doors and windows are one of the most common points of entry for a criminal looking to break into a residence. It’s important to keep doors and windows locked at all times, even when you are outside working in the yard.
• Use specialty locks.  Not only should doors and windows be locked at all times, but homeowners should make sure the locks they’re using are a bit more complicated than the average lock. On average, burglars will spend less than a minute trying to break into a home, so using a lock that will frustrate thieves is an easy way to prevent a break-in.
• Protect yourself. Not only do you have to worry about your property, but you also have to worry about protecting yourself. Beware of con artists running home improvement scams and deception burglaries, and be sure not to leave personal information lying around.

Cyber Safety

How can your clients keep themselves safe from cyber scams when buying or selling a home?

• Encourage them to call the individual they’re sending personal information to to verify their identity and contact information.
• Never send sensitive information via email. If they need to send information via email, ensure they are sending it in an encrypted message.
• Pay attention to the email address of the sender. If they do not recognize the name or address or see a suspicious typo, encourage them not to open the email. It could contain viruses or provide an entryway to your computer for hackers.
• Make sure to use secure Wi-Fi. Using Wi-Fi with an open connection, such as free coffee shops Wi-Fi, provides a connection for hackers or scammers.
• If they suspect fraudulent activity, they should raise concerns right away. Contact all the parties within the transaction and report it to authorities.