{"id":5116,"date":"2015-09-01T09:04:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T16:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealdaily.com\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2015-09-01T09:04:06","modified_gmt":"2015-09-01T16:04:06","slug":"realtor-safety-month-kicks-off-today-how-we-must-change-safety-protocols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/editorials\/realtor-safety-month-kicks-off-today-how-we-must-change-safety-protocols\/","title":{"rendered":"Realtor Safety Month kicks off today; how we must change safety protocols"},"content":{"rendered":"

September is Realtor Safety Month and one year since the Beverly Carter tragedy. It is time to reflect, to see how our industry has fared in instigating changes to safety protocols.<\/p>\n

We do seem to have made some progress in our attitude to safety. I\u2019ve noticed on various Facebook groups that agents are now much more likely to agree we should NOT meet strange prospects at homes. Most now suggest CITO \u2013 “come into the office” and request ID before showing.<\/p>\n

A conversation on what to do next got heated<\/h2>\n

A recent poster to a Facebook group elicited over 90 comments and replies after suggesting a National Safety Policy for meeting with internet leads or strangers. The suggestion was that a prospect could not move on to the next agent if they felt disinclined to submit their photo ID; an enforceable policy industry-wide.<\/p>\n

It was a spirited discussion with some very interesting and varied responses (this time only one<\/em> suggesting all agents should be armed!) with, at one point, Seattle Broker, Sam DeBord insightfully breaking down the different dynamics affecting change in our industry:<\/p>\n

\u201cBrokers don’t want NAR telling them what to do. Agents don’t want their brokers telling them how to do business. State licensing agencies don’t want brokers telling their agents to do too much. Committees want to vet everyone’s opinion.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On reviewing all the comments about who should be responsible for implementing a policy (or not), these were the tallies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
NAR<\/th>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Associations<\/th>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Broker<\/th>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Agent<\/th>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nobody<\/th>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Interesting that no one suggested Associations, because a couple of them have been responsible for instigated the most meaningful changes in our industry in the past year, with the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors announcing its new safety protocol and The Arkansas Realtors Association implemented some new safety protocols, including the Beverly Carter Certified Safety Office Program.<\/p>\n

How change is actually instigated<\/h2>\n

Change is often instigated by traumatic events and\/or by those inspired to make a difference. Both these factors played a part in making important changes in Arkansas and in Des Moines in particular:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ashley Okland, a 27-year-old Iowa Realty agent, was shot twice and killed April 8, 2011 while working inside a West Des Moines model townhouse. Despite a reward that has reached $150,000, West Des Moines police have said they have no suspects<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. In October 2014, shortly after Beverly Carter\u2019s murder, Justin DeBruin, previous employer and personal friend of Ashley and Joe Schafbuch, the broker-owners of Century 21 Signature Real Estate in central Iowa created the \u201cRealtor Safety Pledge\u201d. Over 1260 Agents and Brokers have so far promised to limit certain behaviors that could potentially put them in harm\u2019s way.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cAshley was our \u2018one too many,\u2019 and we don\u2019t want another one,\u201d said Robin Polder, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, who announced its new safety protocol last July.<\/p>\n

    The protocol is a three-pronged plan to protect real estate agents, as they often find themselves alone in empty houses, with prospective buyers they have never met.<\/p>\n