Real Estate Becoming a Dangerous Profession

I have been a licensed real estate broker for 17 years, and it was with horror that I read about the abduction of the Val Verde agent.

Increased visibility in the market has made the female real estate agent more of a target for weirdos. Even though the industry has addressed the issues of safety from time to time, not one person, company or association has taken the proactive step of declaring a direct change of policy to insure their agents’ welfare.

At best, most offices only suggest prudent conduct. It should become mandatory that new clients must first come to the office and register upon meeting the agent. The client’s driver’s license should be kept on file. A telephone number should be verified. A colleague or member of the management team should accompany their agents while showing vacant homes or remote properties. Advertising that mentions that a home is unoccupied should not be permitted.

Open houses have been problematic for many years. They present a chance for the wrong people to enter a home freely for the wrong reasons. Numerous burglaries have been reported where one party gets the real estate agent’s attention and another searches for valuables. They have also been the sites of attacks and murder.

How long can the real estate industry ignore this danger before some one has the courage to affect much needed procedural changes to limit their agents risk?

KARYN FOLEY

Calabasas

Foley is the mayor of Calabasas .