In September of 2003, the National Association of REALTORS® had decided to dedicate each September going forward to be REALTOR® Safety Month.  REALTORS® have demanding and public jobs that can drive them to unfamiliar locations and interact with numerous strangers, especially on their own. REALTOR® Safety Month focuses on providing necessary safety tips that can help protect REALTORS® from potential harm or danger when they are interacting with the community or traveling to a new area.

One tip to help keep our amazing REALTORS® safe is not only to make sure you are physically healthy and safe but also to protect your mental health. Being a REALTOR® and helping your clients buy or sell a home can be a stressful job. Stress can cause many health problems, so it is best to find ways to reduce your stress. Try yoga or meditation to relax, go for a run, relax in a bath with a good book, or any other way you can de-stress. Keep your stress in check, and remember to find the time for yourself in your hectic schedule.

As a REALTOR®, you will eventually travel to real estate events and conferences to increase your knowledge and expertise. Traveling to a new state or city is an exciting opportunity and experience; however, being in an unfamiliar area can pose dangers. Always extensively research the area you plan to travel to, and if possible, try to take a friend or family member to travel with you. Confirm your hotel to see how far the conference is from the hotel if it is being held in another building, as well as ask locals through online measures such as Facebook groups for that area on places that are unsafe and should be avoided.

As part of the job, REALTORS® will receive documents from unknown emails as potential clients will always reach out to see if you would be the best fit as their REALTOR®. Be careful of what documents you open, as SPAM emails and spammers are becoming increasingly better at defrauding people. Have top-notch firewalls and anti-spyware on your computers and other electronic devices, and scan all documents before you open them. Opening a document that has a virus on it can compromise your office and all your clients’ personal information. Regularly have your spyware updated by an experienced and trustworthy IT firm.

Being a REALTOR® means regularly visiting houses to show. Sometimes, houses are vacant when you are trying to sell, which means there could be no electricity or power. It is best to show vacant properties during the day to avoid any safety hazards and avoid being alone in the dark. Remember to mark which houses are vacant, so you will know only to show that list during the daytime.

As REALTORS®, you are constantly on the move and working with many different people, which could potentially put you in danger, and being in the public eye could also make you a target. These listed safety tips can help make you more aware of your surroundings and how you advertise yourself out in the community to ensure you are protecting yourself. Remember to practice these safety tips year-round and share them with your fellow REALTORS® to help keep them safe. In honor of REALTOR® Safety Month, the Ulster County Board of REALTORS® held the following program on September 19^th that was a three-hour course on “REALTOR Safety and Survival Guide hosted by Kathryn DeClerck. “As happens with many other professionals, real estate agents often go about their day on autopilot. Serving the client and customer promptly and attentively takes precedence over the agent’s personal safety and sometimes that of a client or customer. Being in tune with your surroundings and using other various strategies to keep yourself and those in your care safe provides a higher level of customer service, which, of course, is good business.” The course provided numerous safety tips to our REALTORS® to ensure they are aware of any potential dangers that can take place in the industry while still giving their clients exceptional services.