In Honor of Beverly Carter
Beverly Carter has been weighing heavily on my mind. She was
a mother and a wife and a Realtor®. What happened to her was one of the most
tragic and devastating things that could happen. I have a feeling that we still
don’t know the whole story. As the new outlets investigate it, we will find
out. I am dreading it. My entire heart goes out to her family, friends and
colleagues.
I know that in our real estate community this has sparked
concern about how we meet our clients.
I am not a working agent. I do hold a license, in escrow,
however I work as a lender, and have for many years. I am part of the real
estate community. I am you. I have been known to make decisions to meet new
clients in their homes, or after hours in the office. I can tell you right now,
I will never compromise my own safety again.
In honor of Beverly Carter, I urge you all to examine your
own practices of meeting clients. Make safe choices. You are valuable to your
family and your colleagues and how you conduct your business is important.
Never compromise your safety.
I have found some resources that hopefully are helpful to
you.
NAR has designated September as Realtor® Safety Month. They
have a presentation ready for your offices so you can conduct a meeting
specific to this topic. Download it. Talk about it. http://www.realtor.org/topics/realtor-safety
Fairfax County, VA has a FREE Self Defense course that I
urge you to attend. I will. It is open
to women ages 12 and over and is conducted by the Fairfax County Police
Department and seems like a very comprehensive program covering awareness of
your surroundings, risk assessment, and hands on training and techniques.
Also, speaking from a lender’s standpoint, a serious buyer
will give over tons of personal information to get qualified for a mortgage. In
a way, this vetting your buyer. Make
sure your potential buyer has been vetted with a lender. They should have a
letter in hand from a reputable lender proving they are a serious buyer. This
still does not insure your safety, always take appropriate precautions.
I am volunteering myself to accompany any Realtor® who
doesn’t feel comfortable going to a showing alone. Contact me, anytime. All of
my information is part of this email. This is about looking out for one
another. We are a community.
Sincerely,
Dawn
