Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - (Page 2) President’s Perspective By Hope Andrews BE ON THE SAFE SIDE! Dear Members, The statistics are alarming on the number of real estate professionals that are being assaulted on the job. Due to our frequent contact with unfamiliar people in private locations, we, as real estate professionals, are facing more on-the-job risks than many other business professionals. According to the most recent statistics from the National Safety Council, there were 57 violent crimes committed against real estate practitioners in 2001. Six of them were fatal. In a recent National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) safety survey of REALTORS®, 67 percent of respondents have experienced safety concerns, incidents, or other harassing situations while working as a REALTOR®. A majority of issues involve open houses or vacant property. Other issues include unfriendly dogs, unsafe property, and threatening or harassing phone calls. What can you do to protect yourself, to stay out of potentially dangerous situations? Please take the time to read this issue of the Osceola ReVIEW as it offers many great safety tips that most of us take for granted on a daily basis. You can also visit the NAR’s website www.realtors.org and read up on their safety guidelines and in-depth Safety Tips. Please remember that until you really know a customer, remain vigilant regardless of the gender, appearance, dress, or charm. It could save your life. ■ SAFETY TIPS SAFETY IS A YEAR-ROUND PRIORITY Tip #1 Keep in touch. Always let someone know where you are going; leave the name and phone number of the client you are meeting and schedule a time for your office to call you to check in. Tip #2 “After you…” When showing a home, always have your prospect walk in front of you. Don’t lead them, but rather, direct them from a position slightly behind them. You can gesture for them to go ahead of you and say, for example, “The master suite is in the back of the house.” Tip #3 Create an office distress code. Establish a voice distress code, a secret word or phrase that is not commonly used but can be worked into any conversation for cases where you feel that you are in danger. Use this if the person you are with can overhear the conversation, but you don’t want to alarm them. Example: “Hi, this is Jennifer. I’m with Mr. Henderson at the Elm Street listing. Could you e-mail me the RED FILE?” Tip #4 Protect your clients Warn your clients that not all agents, buyers and sellers are who they say they are. Strangers who stop by unannounced should be asked to make an appointment with the REALTOR®. Stress that your clients should never show a home without the presence of an agent. Tip #5 Hone your REALTOR® safety skills. Get industry-specific safety training any time, anywhere— with a complete, interactive online REALTOR® safety course, available through REALTOR® University. Visit www. learninglibrary.com/realtoruniversity to learn more. Tip #6 Lock it up! Be sure to use the lockbox property-key procedure that has been established to improve real estate agent safety. A reliable, secure lockbox system such as those made by SentriLock (www.sentrilock.com), ensures that keys don’t fall into the wrong hands. Betty M. Dobbie President 897 Towne Center Drive Poinciana, Florida 34759 Ph: (407) 343-1560 Cell: (786) 316-9270 Fax: (407) 343-1561 www.prominenttitle.com bdobbie@prominenttitle.com 2 Osceola ReVIEW September 2008 http://www.realtors.org http://www.learninglibrary.com/realtoruniversity http://www.learninglibrary.com/realtoruniversity http://www.prominenttitle.com http://www.sentrilock.com http://www.prominenttitle.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 President's Perspective CEO Perspective Education Corner Association Staff Association Leadership Knowledge Services News Supra News Monthly Planner Welcome New Members New Real Estate Offices Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 (Page 1) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - President's Perspective (Page 2) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - President's Perspective (Page 3) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - CEO Perspective (Page 4) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Education Corner (Page 5) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Association Staff (Page 6) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Association Staff (Page 7) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Association Staff (Page 8) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Association Leadership (Page 9) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Knowledge Services News (Page 10) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Knowledge Services News (Page 11) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Knowledge Services News (Page 12) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Supra News (Page 13) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Supra News (Page 14) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Supra News (Page 15) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Supra News (Page 16) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Supra News (Page 17) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Monthly Planner (Page 18) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - Monthly Planner (Page 19) Osceola ReVIEW - September 2008 - New Real Estate Offices (Page 20)
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