Safety is not just about one week. Keep your awareness awake and be safe every day! You meet lots of people in the real estate business--some nice and some not so nice. Learn how to protect yourself at open houses, in the office, in the car and talking on the phone. Get safety tips, handouts and testimonies from NAR Field Guide to Safety: http://www.realtor.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg201

10-Second Rule for Personal Safety

Taking in your surroundings, lets you spot and avoid danger. Take ten seconds during the course of your day to ask yourself these questions.

Is there a questionable activity in the area? Are you parked in a well-lit, visible location? Can you be blocked in the driveway by a prospect's vehicle? After you step out of the car...are there suspicious people around? Do you know exactly where you’re going? Are people coming and going or is the area unusually quiet? Do you observe any obstacles or hiding places in the parking lot or along the street? Is anyone loitering in the area? Do you have an uneasy feeling as you’re walking in? Is someone following you in? Does anything seem out of place? Is anyone present who shouldn’t be there or who isn’t expected? 10 seconds total. Make these actions a habit. Then share these with someone else.

Appeared in “What You Can Do About Safety”, REALTOR® Magazine, September 2000. Courtesy Night Owl/Vector Security, Landover, Md.