Mobile App Prevents Agents from Becoming Crime Victims

In late 2014, Realtor Beverly Carter vanished while showing a house to prospective buyer, Arron Lewis. Five days after Lewis was apprehended, police were led to the body of Carter.

While Carter's case may be heartbreaking, this is not an isolated incident. Many agents have been murdered, raped or assaulted while working. In 2011, a Bureau of Labor study said that those in the real estate industry experience a 40 percent higher rate of on-the-job crime than the average profession.

According to Lee Goldstein, CEO of Real Safe Agent, it doesn't have to be that way. Combined with a team of programmers and financial partners, Goldstein thought of a new way to keep Realtors safe. Unlike personal safety apps that have been readily available for years, Real Safe Agent is an enterprise safety system that deploys through the MLS or Realtor Association and allows the entire real estate community to protect each agent without interfering with legitimate sales opportunities. According the company's website, "Any agent could need help on any day, but every can help any other agent every day."

"Staying safe means preventing trouble, not merely alerting people that you are already in trouble; by then it's too late," says Goldstein. "The Real Safe Agent system represents a paradigm shift. We designed it to deter predators and allow agents to prevent trouble."

The system's key features include allowing agents to visually verify prospects before meeting with them, finding out if other agents have felt unsafe with the prospect and, during a showing, if an agent becomes uncomfortable for any reason, the app allows the agent to request that a nearby agent drop-in. According to the company, having another agent drop in during the showing prevents trouble if the prospect was a threat without interfering with the sales process if the prospect wasn't. Additionally, brokerages, associations, and MLS can have watch commanders if they choose. These are individuals who can monitor alerts and even ask agents close to an alert to respond if no one has responded within 30 seconds or a minute.

According to Goldstein, widespread adoption of the system will automatically create a national database of individuals known to be a threat or menace to real estate agents and allow for the first comprehensive research into the behavior patterns of predators who target real estate agents.

A typical scenario in real estate is that of an unknown prospect calling an agent and requesting to see a property. In this scenario, an agent can use Real Safe Agent to send the prospect a text message that includes a link. When the prospect clicks the link, it opens a browser where he can take a "selfie" and type in his name. According to Goldstein, the agent can make up whatever reason they want for asking for this information.

"You don't have to tell them it's about safety because most agents aren't comfortable telling someone it's about safety, with good reason," Goldstein says. "It's real simple. Each text is customized to the agent and the URL says nothing about safety and security. It's completely clandestine."

A more advanced version will ask the prospect to send a picture of their driver's license, as well. When the app is fully developed, an even more advanced version will allow agents to run a criminal background check on prospects.

Once the agent has received the prospect record, they can check to see if that prospect has met with other agents previously and if those agents were comfortable or uncomfortable meeting with that prospect. "We included this feature specifically to stop victim shopping," commented Goldstein.

Additional pre-appointment features include allowing agents to contact an agent who said they were uncomfortable meeting with a specific prospect, and allowing agents to ask all agents within a specific radius of the appointment address if anyone can accompany them on an appointment.

When meeting the prospect, the agents puts their phone in "showing mode" which presents the agent with a fake home screen. However, the entire screen is an alert button. Furthermore, this fake home screen has clandestine icons that tell the agent how many agents are nearby and how many agents are responding should he or she issue an alert.

"It's important this is clandestine because if a prospect is a threat, a 'panic button' can escalate a situation and cause an attack," Goldstein says. "Additionally, if a person is not a threat, I don't want something that would interfere with the trust building needed in a sales relationship."

If the agent becomes uncomfortable with the prospect for any reason, they can issue a drop-in alert by pressing and holding their screen for three seconds. Alerts go out to 1) family and friends if the agent chooses; 2) nearby agents within a specific radius of where the agent is; and 3) watch commanders.

Agents who respond to the alert can listen and see what's going on at the alert site so they don't walk in to a surprise. They can also see a map with their GPS location and the GPS location of the agent requesting assistance, a picture of the agent, and his or her name. It also displays the name and picture of the individual the agent is with. Friends and family and watch commanders also have the same functionality. "We wanted to make sure agents weren't unwittingly walking into a dangerous situation; and that both agents and watch commanders could call the police if needed," said Goldstein.

When agents respond, friends, family, the agent issuing the alert and watch commanders are notified. "There's a high level of communication," Goldstein says. "Everyone knows what's going on all of the time."

To issue a 911 alert, agents only have to tap their fake home screen three times fast or shake their phones violently. Besides everyone being notified that a 911 alert was issued, this also makes the actual emergency call.

Some features, such as "check-in" alerts, have yet to be added to the app. Goldstein adds that this "will not now nor ever be a finished product." As the industry evolves and criminals learn of its existence, the app will adapt.

Goldstein says he is also leading the legislative charge to create federal grants that will cover the cost of a national real estate agent safety system as well as safety research and training. "This is more of social cause for me than a business, and I want to do everything possible to end crime against real estate agents."

"The cost is minimal compared to what we get out of it," Goldstein says.

Goldstein is currently travelling the country to spread the word about this safety system.

"We want to empower the industry to keep itself safe," Goldstein says. "Not just react to when there has been an attack."

To get more detailed information on the app and its release, visit RealSafeAgent.com or contact founder Lee Goldstein at lee[at]realsafeagent.com.