I have a code word with my wife and I have an e-mail set up on my phone. All I have to do is hit two buttons on my phone and the e-mail is sent. I don't even have to look at my phone to send the e-mail. She knows where I am and can call the police.

I also send the clients to their car and lock the front door behind them Then I go lock all the windows and doors in a house then re-unlock the front door and meet them in the driveway. I've always done this and it works wonderfully.

Todd

Whenever I'm with someone for the first time, I have them go to the second floor and basement by themselves.  I stand near the stairs and listen.  I don't ever want to be too far from the front door.  The cell phone is a great tool, but if someone attacks you there may not be time to push buttons.  I also have mace on my key ring.

Todd, I like your idea about sending them outside, locking the door and then checking all the windows and other doors.  

Hi All,

We need to be aware as well as everyone else.  Especially since in our business we are putting strangers in our cars and driving them to mostly non occupied property.  (We ask our sellers to leave while we show the home.)  My best advise is to go with your gut feelings.  There is no harm in asking a client to meet you at the office first.  Make sure someone knows where you are going and with whom.  And if you get one of those feelings, listen to that little voice!

Great idea Todd, I don't know how many times I have driven away from a home and thought to myself did I had locked all the doors?

Jana

I make the customers drive in their own cars.  Two things happen from this, no strangers in my car and let them burn their gas as well as yours.  They pick a house faster or quit looking if they are time wasters.

I like the idea of having people drive their car, I do that for people who live in town.  However, I really spend a lot of time building rapport and helping out of town clients eliminate the homes they don't like while we are driving, so I don't think I can give that up.

Be careful not to give too many of your safety secrets up here, this is a public forum.  I like to think the best of people but some bad guys might stumble on this and we don't want to give them any more ammunition to use against us.  I think this is a must have topic on the Message Board.

Thanks for bringing it up!

When I show a house to prospective buyers, I lead them into each room, turning on lights as I go.  Also, my cell phone is out and in my hand, not in my pocket (sorry, I don't carry a purse) - and they know it.  When I get to the last room, I work backwards and follow them out - turning out lights and closing and locking windows and doors as I go.  I haven't had anyone (yet) try to work their way around back behind me to do any stealthy.  If they did, I would immediately sheppard them to the front door and out of the house.  The tour's over.  So's my working relationship with them. (And, yes, I'd go back and recheck everything after they left to make sure.)

If I am meeting a client at a property or holding an open house I never park in the driveway, that way I can't be blocked in. I also keep the clients in front of me always letting them enter a room first so I can not be blocked from an exit. And of course I always have my cell phone in hand.

Susan Noble

Great idea, Susan.  I usually park in the street so the client will pull in the driveway and feel like they are "home", but that is another great reason to park in the street!

I show a lot of vacant foreclosures and you never know what you will find.  I carry a larg Mag flashlight with me for 2 reasons!

I showed a property that was a vacant HUD house and when I got inside I had a feeling something was wrong.  There was an awful stench in the home and all the bedroom doors were shut. (I had been in before and they were not that way.)  I told me client I think someone is in the home.  As I opened one of the bedroom doors a bit I noticed the closet door was open a few inches and there was a shopping cart in it.  After looking the rest of the way in the bedroom I saw a hot plate plugged into the wall and some bottles of pop and a couple cans of food on the floor.  One of the back bedrooms had a broken out window.  I did not see anyone in the home, but we left and I called the cops.  They showed up and found a bum hiding in the home.  I was lucky he didn't pop out of a closet all pissed off I was there.

It is very smart to let your office know when you go out on an appointment and let them know your schedule of houses.  That way if you don't show back up they know where to start looking for you.

I always ring the doorbell first...even if it's a vacant house.  I guess I figure if there is someone inside hiding in the house and they hear the bell ring, they will high tail it out of there before I get in.

Luckily I've never ran across this, but I'm always leary of entering vacant homes.  Most times I will wait till my buyer gets there before I will go in.

I also HATE HATE HATE when I am in a home and all the interior doors are closed.  All the bathroom and bedroom doors are closed.  WHY do people do this?  I make sure to yell out "hello" several times.  I just keep thinking one of these times, I'm going to open one of those doors and find someone behind it.

I woke somebody up a couple of weeks ago and this was after calling, ringing the bell and hollering throughout the house.  When I got to the last closed door I knocked and yelled again and got a reply.  I always secure the doors when clients are exiting and never had anybody approach windows yet.  I keep a pretty tight group in occupied homes.  Don't let kids of any age stray or look around on their own. Good Luck