September is NAR REALTOR Safety Month: How You Can Apply Commercial Safety!
While the most publicized physical attacks on real estate agents have involved residential agents, commercial agents are equally at risk. Many of the same safety tips employed by residential agents are relevant for commercial practitioners. It is important to remember that not all safety and security risks are external.
The only thing more tragic than a REALTOR® being harmed while doing their job is knowing that the harm may well have been prevented with some simple best practices. NAR has a wealth of resources to help agents, brokers, and associations better understand and educate each other about the safety risks they face.
- Office and Industrial listings that may be typically isolated from populated areas, and are often difficult to access.
- Vacant land listings that can contain ditches and low spots that present accident hazards that create obvious safety risks.
- Multi-family or self-storage listings present hazards and may require personal safety basics like wearing appropriate gear and confirming adequate lighting.
Download: 2020 Member Safety Report
Two simple safety measures that you can implement immediately include:
1. Smartphone apps and other safety products enable agents to send alert signals via phone, text, social networks and email to your emergency contacts along with a GPS location; a list of expert resources is available on the NAR website.
2. Adding ICE (In Case of Emergency) entries into your smart phone’s contact list enables any prospect or client to be able to dial directly to someone who can send immediate assistance. Dialing 9-1-1 is not always reliable on a cell phone, as some calls are directed to towers outside of the service area where the casualty actually occurs.
Additional Resources:
REALTOR® Safety Home page on NAR: https://www.nar.realtor/topics/realtor-safety
FREE REALTOR® Safety Courses and Webinars: http://onlinelearning.realtor/Catalog/c-1026-realtor-safety-program.aspx
Real Estate Safety Matters: Safe Business = Smart Business | 3 CE Credits
The course will guide students through strategies for data security, including protecting personal and electronic information for real estate professionals and the clients they serve. As a practical resource, this course offers easy-to-remember strategies for responding to threats and attacks and when facing potentially dangerous situations. Register here.
