Agent Safety Should Come First.

Written by Bill Kilpatrick and approved by Adam Borders

Agent Safety Should Come First

In light of the recent news reports of Arkansas Realtor Beverly Carter’s disappearance after going to a vacant house to meet a perspective buyer, and being that this unfortunately is not nearly the first time such an event has occurred, now is an appropriate time to look to the real estate industry to make some basic changes.   It’s time for a paradigm shift.   Do you know any other group of people that consider themselves business professionals that willingly go meet perfect strangers in vacant buildings?   Do Attorneys, Doctors, or Accountants talk to people they’ve never met for a moment on the phone and then rush out to meet them in a vacant building?   For that matter, do used car salespeople get phone calls from perfect strangers and go running out of their office to meet?   Of course not.   However, up until now that’s exactly what too many real estate agents do.

Enough!   The time has come to change the way we think as an industry.   I’ve been reading too many social media discussions from real estate professionals writing about increasing their security and safety by carrying concealed weapons, or tasers, or traveling in twos, or taking karate courses, or maybe Tae Kwan Do.    This seems really backward to me.   Wouldn’t it be much simpler to just qualify clients before showing property?

Consider this.   Is there any reason to show a property to someone when that person has no ability to purchase the property?    Are we serving our sellers if we open their house to an unqualified buyer?   Even for bank owned properties, not that the bank might care how we waste our time, does it serve the bank or investor in any way to take people on tours of the property when that person has no ability to buy it?     My answer is no.

Our real estate team has sold over 90 homes so far this year.  Our buyer’s agents are trained to get an in office appointment before showing properties.  We always get from all of our clients either a proof of funds or a pre-approval from a trusted lender before we show properties.   Why on earth would we go show a property to someone when we have no idea whether they can afford it?   How is that even considered good customer service?   If they can’t afford it, you’ve just set them up for a huge disappointment.   If it turns out they can afford more, it’s very likely they will want something nicer.  Either way, we’ve wasted their time and ours by showing them the property.   Is that what real estate professionals should do?   Should professional agents waste their clients time?

Many agents seem to feel the buyer’s will not choose to work with them unless the agent comes running when a buyer calls.   We have found that a few simple qualifying questions on the phone can help the buyer understand the added value we bring by doing an in office consultation.   We feel if the perspective buyer pushes back too hard against coming in to the office, or sending us a proof of funds or a pre- approval letter, this is likely an indicator of someone who is not a serious buyer.   It could also be an indication of someone with much worse intentions!

What would be the downside to our industry adopting a standard that any buyer in order to set an appointment to see a property would need to provide proof of funds or a pre-approval?   Is there a downside?    I don’t see it, but there could be considerable upside.   Agents would never again waste a buyer’s time showing them properties they are unqualified to purchase.   Agent’s would never again feel the need to go to a vacant property to meet a stranger.   Buyers, once it becomes an industry standard would never have an expectation of calling an agent they’ve never met out to meet at a vacant home.   Bad guys would never again be able to use this tactic.     So, what do we do?

If you are a real estate professional, adopt the practice of qualifying your buyers before you show property.   Talk to your broker about making it an office policy.  Then contact your local, state, and the National Association of REALTORS and let them know it’s time for professional REALTORS to behave like professionals.   It can be a standard that we let sellers know that as a service to them we won’t allow unqualified buyers into their property.   And, for buyers as a service to them we won’t waste their time showing them properties they can’t purchase.  As real estate professionals we can put in place standards that provide a higher level of service and more importantly protect the safety of agents.

If you are a consumer please understand that when an agent asks you to come in to an office to meet before showing you property they are actually following a proven path of delivering a high level of service.   There is no advantage for a consumer to run out and tour a home that they have no ability to purchase.   If you are wanting to shop for a home you need to be educated to make an informed decision, and you will need to be prepared to write an offer for purchase.  No seller is going to accept an offer for purchase without some sort of proof of funds or a pre-approval letter.  A real estate professional that can sit down with you and help you understand the local economics of the marketplace is helping you to be a more informed, savvy buyer.   Plus, that agent has every right to get to know the person they will be touring homes with.

There is a better way to conduct business than the way things have been done.  There is no compelling reason for an industry to not adopt standards of practice that not only protect the workers within the industry but also provide a higher level of customer service.  I look to the leaders of the real estate industry to step up and raise this bar.

Bill Kilpatrick is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty and CEO of the Florida Real Estate Sellers sales team at Keller Williams Realty.