Self Defense for Realtors from The Self Defense Company

8 Self Defense Rules for Realtors

“Butler County Ohio – A 29-year-old sales agent was reportedly attacked by two masked men in a model home. According to police, the two men approached the female agent from behind and sprayed her with pepper spray and allegedly stole the woman’s jewelry and then fled the model home.

The agent then ran into the neighborhood calling for help, where a couple and a college student called 911 for her.”

You don’t need to be a criminal genius to figure out that Realtors are easy targets.

They work alone.
Can be targeted by age and sex from your name and picture on a listing
You can be easily isolated in an empty home, far from public view.

According to one report, there are commonalities of attacks on Realtors:

The majority of the attacks occur in the afternoons on Thursday or Friday.
Over 70% of victims are women.
Most attacks did not occur inside major metro areas.
Guns were used in almost 50% of the attacks.
Robbery was the intention going into the attack but often escalated to murder.

To eliminate your risk, we’re going to give you some simple rules to follow that will make you a hard target.

Remember, there are 3 things every criminal fears:

Being Caught
Being Identified
Being Injured

Anything you do to increase the chances of one of these three things occurring, the less likely you will be targeted.

Now on to the 8 rules…

The 8 Self Defense Rules for Realtors

1. SCREEN ALL OF YOUR APPOINTMENTS.
This seems pretty basic, but it needs repeating because hasty realtors are attacked by people using a false name. The more paperwork they have to fill out, the better.

The first time you meet a potential client:

MEET AT YOUR OFFICE (never at the location)
This will eliminate a lot of potential predators. Meeting at your office will increase their chances of being identified and eventually caught. Meeting at the home is an extremely dangerous mistake. This puts all of the control in their hands since they can remain anonymous and even have accomplices.
Get 3 FORMS of IDENTIFICATION
This goes towards being identified and eliminates the “false name” issue. Photo copy them and put them in their file.
FILL OUT A FORM
Anything to collect their Name, Address, Preferred Location and Budget or any prequalifying paperwork will do it. The more hoops they have to jump through the more serious the buyer. IF THEY DON’T WANT TO DO THIS you’re not losing a potential buyer, you’re losing a potential attacker.

*You only need to do this the first time. After the initial meeting you can meet them at the location since you already have their information. Just keep a public appointment book and follow the rest of the rules.

2. ARM YOURSELF
Firearms, Pepper spray, Neck Knives with finger hole, push daggers and the proper training will heighten your awareness and increase your ability to escape an attack.

3. WEAR A “WIRE”
If you feel someone is giving to the “willies”, trust your gut, call your office or a loved one, leave your phone on and put it in your pocket. This will allow someone to monitor your safety and contact the authorities with your exact location if something does go wrong.

*If something feels REALLY strange, tell them you’re not feeling well and ask to reschedule – DON’T ENTER THE HOME. Your survival instinct is sharper than you think, trust it. No one ever lost a sale over an upset stomach.

4. THE BUYER ALWAYS GOES FIRST
Never walk into a room or a house before the buyer. ALWAYS position yourself between the door and the buyer. Don’t go into any room you can’t get out of.

5. ALWAYS DRIVE
Take your car and have the buyer take their car. Never let the buyer drive.

6. PROTECT THE ADDRESS
If possible, don’t give out the address prior to the first visit. This will eliminate the risk of a third party going to the location to ambush you.

7. AVOID MEETING THIRD PARTIES
You don’t want to get into a situation where an unknown entity meets you at the house on your first go around. Everyone in that first visit should be screened. The “In-laws” will typically check it out on the second or third visit when there is an extremely low risk of attack.

8. “CLOSE” THE OPEN HOUSE

Always put a person at the door. Empty tables get empty results.

Have a Sign in Sheet (with a real person signing them in)
Put the table across the door entrance. This will compel people to fill out the sheet.
Get a body count.
The person on the door should keep a tally sheet of people “in” and people “out”. If the number “in” matches the number “out” at the end of the open house – it’s safe to clear the house.
Have a partner close the house and clear it with you. Moving together with your partner, check the home.
If you do find someone lingering, remind them it’s closing, then immediately leave the home and call 9-1-1. It’s not your job to remove them from the home.
If you have an “off count” and you can’t find anyone remaining in the home, they may be hiding. CALL THE POLICE and have them clear the home.