Realtors and Stagers... This is Not the Time to Worry About Being Nice!
Karen Monsour of Coldwell Banker in Fort Lauderdale wrote a post that was Featured today about a very upsetting story of a Realtor missing in Pembroke Pines Florida. It is Members Only so I cannot reblog it but I encourage you to go to her post and read it AND read the comments.
This is a sad reminder that we should be vigilante all of the time. While Stagers are not out there in the way Realtors are... accompanying strangers to homes... holding open houses, etc., we still are going to the homes of people about whom we often know very little.
So please take some time today to review what safety precautions you take when you are going out there to meet your clients. Also please pass this information along to Realtors you know.
What are some Safety Tips?
1. Know your client- While some of our clients may be referred by our Realtors, many still find us on their own via our Internet presence. What questions are you asking them BEFORE you head out to their house? Have you Googled them? If they say their home is listed... go to their MLS listing and contact their Realtor.
2. Let people know where you are! Leave the address of your appointment and your client's phone number for your assistant, husband, good friend... whomever.
3. You can have someone call you while you're there.
4. Have your cell phone on you. Not in your purse across the room.
5. Do what the Realtors do...let your client enter a room first and that's especially true if you're up north and there are basements.
6. Give yourself a way out...don't park in the driveway where it can be blocked.
7. Use your cell phone to snap a photo ....you can send it to someone when you arrive at the house. You can even "accidentally" take a photo of your client and send it.
8. Bring an "assistant" to take photos or measurements.
9. Vacant Home Stagings-same rules apply but don't forget to keep the doors locked while you are inside Staging.
10. Use your intuition...it's more reliable than you think. If something doesn't feel right... Get OUT.
*For your Realtors-I always suggest to my clients that they stash their block of knives that are usually on the kitchen counter top.
This is not intended to scare anyone..... Just use your head and be careful.
Please add Safety Tips You Use!
