Resources Related to Realtor Safety
A 44 year old man was arrested for threatening to ambush and rape several real estate agents in various counties. In a phone call listened to by the local police, he told the agent on the phone that he would ask his wife to make an appointment to come and see a property, and instead he would show up and would rape her in there. When arrested by the police he claimed to have done this several times in the past to other women and had no complaint. Police asked the public to call with information about the past victims. Is it possible that agents get abused, threaten, attacked, or harmed, without reporting it to their bosses or the police? How much of such victims are silent? The better question is, why are they silent and dont report the event to authorities?
Two people were indicated by a grand jury in Hennepin County in the kidnapping and murder of a real estate agent in 2019. P rosecutors say the 28 – year – old victim, Monique Baugh, was lured to a phony home showing in Maple Grove, kidnapped, and found shot to death in a Minneapolis alley on New Year’s Eve.
Published by National Association of Realtors reported that 31% of realtors feared for their safety during an Open House, or a House Showing. These are situations where the agents are there on t heir own, in a private setting with total strangers
Buziak, a real estate agent in Victoria received a call from a woman saying that her husband had been transferred and the couple needed a million-dollar home. Buziak was suspicious of the call when the caller told her that she was referred to her but was not able to identify by who. She told her boyfriend and office receptionist about the weird nature of the call but eventually could not pass on the opportunity to sell a million-dollar house. She insisted in showing the place by herself but agreed to allow her boyfriend to come by and wait for her outside. She got to the showing before her boyfriend and met the couple at the vacant house alone. She was murdered in the house in one of the bedrooms, before her boyfriend got to the place.
Published by National Association of Realtors reported that 43% of the members (realtors) choose to carry self-defense weapons, and 47% use a smart phone safety app to track their whereabouts and alert colleagues
National Association of Realtors has gathered a list of products that can assist realtors in their daily tasks to mitigate risk and increase personal safety. Though none are as comprehensive as Guardian VDS, they should be considered by all realtors. Making sure that everyone gets back home safely is our collective’s responsibility.
Elsa Segura, 28, is accused of luring Monique Baugh, a real estate agent, to a home in Maple Grove, Minnesota, where two men kidnapped her in a rental truck and eventually murdered her. According to police documents, Baugh received a voice mail from an unknown phone number from a woman named “Lisa” who requested a showing for a home. Baugh found it odd that the unknown woman had obtained her personal phone number, but still did not take any precautions.
A real estate agent in Arizona was attacked and groped during an open house on March 2015 by a suspect who walked in and claimed to be a prospective buyer. He groped her, and then took her business cards and fliers and walked out. She was properly trained in safety and had various tools to assist her in such situations. She said, “I know how to protect myself, I know how to box, I’ve taken self defense courses, I had mace with me, I had a knife with me, I didn’t use any of it”. Perhaps the reason was that she has so many options but she was not prepared with any of them. So the surprise of the moment caught her off-guard. It is just not enough to be educated. In this business you have to be ready for anything, be aware at all times, and plan for unexpected.
Lenora Farrington, a real estate agent at Keller Williams in Virginia was viciously attacked and beaten at her open house on June 20, 2020. She was attacked with a hammer more than 10 times, and was hospitalized with skull fracture. Her attacker had come to the open house, signed in using his own name, and went through the house before leaving. He then came back claiming that he had forgotten his phone, and that is when he attacked Lenora. Reports mentioned that she had fought him as he was assaulting her, which is amazing by itself.
A brazen and violent attack on a real estate agent was caught on camera. A 51-year-old woman realtor was groped and attacked while running an open house in Encino, California. While showing the property, the agent felt uncomfortable and directed the conversation and the man to the outside of the house entrance. As the man was leaving, he shook her hand and then pushed her down, and groped her before running away. As they were in the open, she screamed and yelled which caused him to fear and run away. Even though her gut guided her correctly, the situation did not allow her to prevent the attack, but only to limit the extend of the assault. There is a video of the incident that shows the person and the attack in progress. All of this was not enough to prevent the assault. It makes you wonder what could she have done to prevent the attack!!! She assessed the situation correctly, made the right moves, but eventually was assaulted. Should she have trusted her gut and asked the man to leave or called someone for help, or screamed prior to the assault? Unfortunately people do not take action until something has gone wrong.