Commercial PropertyInside Edition Looks At Agent, Homeowner Risks While Showing Homes To Strangers
Airing today, September 27, 2004 on "Inside Edition" is a must-see report for all real estate professionals about the dangers they and for-sale-by-owner homesellers face while showing homes to strangers.
Inside Edition"s Senior Investigative Correspondent Matt Meagher looks at the disturbing number of personal attacks against real estate professionals and homeowners during home showings to criminals pretending to be buyers. He interviews Robert Siciliano, safety expert and former columnist for Realty Times, who offers viewers tips for avoiding potentially fatal consequences while showing homes.
According to information provided by the National Association of Realtors" Realtor Safety Council, more than 200 real estate agents have been killed on the job from 1982-2000 as they showed homes to strangers.
An increase against stranger violence against real estate professionals in recent years has prompted the NAR to create and distribute safety educational materials to all Realtors and to draw attention to the topic with an annual Realtor Safety Week which is supported and promoted by local real estate associations, managers and brokers.
Yet the promise of a sale is so encouraging that even seasoned real estate professionals are tempted to take chances with their safety against their better judgment, as the Inside Edition report reveals.
The segment profiles Florida Realtor Linda Tedesco, who lived to tell about her brush with danger last February while showing high-end homes near Daytona Beach. What she didn"t know was that the man pretending to be relocating to the area had intentions of robbing her.
"I remember looking at him and saying, "I wonder why he"s carrying that briefcase, and he doesn"t look like he can afford this house,"" Tedesco told Inside Edition.
As Tedesco showed the property, her concerns grew, but she ignored her intuition. "I"m not going to lose a big sale I told myself," she says on camera.
Tedesco admits that she let her guard down, and she soon found herself cornered in a walk-in closet. "He said, "This is a robbery. My team is in place. Get down." I was terrified."
The robber tore off her jewelry, bound her with duct tape, and threw her to the closet floor.
"I didn"t know if they were going to kill me, or if they were going to rape me and then kill me. But I just had it in my head that I wasn"t going to get out of there one way or another."
Tedesco managed to free herself and ran to a neighboring home.
Richard Pate was convicted on kidnapping and robbery charges, and was implicated in robberies of Realtors in Georgia as well, according to news reports. He also had robbed a 78-year-old Flagler County woman who was attempting to sell her own condominium.
Significantly, of all the Realtors connected to the case who were interviewed, found Realty Times, none took steps to verify Pate"s identity before agreeing to show him homes.
It could be that high price points of some properties tempt some Realtors to let their guard down.
Last month, Albuquerque, New Mexico Realtor Garland Taylor was shot in the back of the head and left in a closet as he was showing a $1 million home to a prospect. Mario Lucas Chavez was arrested for the murder of the 74-year-old real estate veteran and has pleaded not guilty. Chavez allegedly pretended to Taylor and others that he was a corporate attorney from Arizona.
The double murders of Lori Brown and Cynthia Williams in Atlanta, Georgia also shocked the real estate industry. The pair were shot to death in the model home of a prosperous Atlanta area subdivision in November 2003.
Police say Stacey Ian Humphries killed the two women during a robbery. He has pleaded not guilty to two first-degree murder charges.
As Inside Edition reports, it"s not only Realtors who are at risk while showing homes to strangers. Diane Holik of Austin, Texas, was trying to sell her own home when Patrick Russo, posing as a buyer, strangled her to death. He was found guilty in February 2004, and later sentenced to life in prison.
During the show, security consultant Robert Siciliano tells Inside Edition that all too often people selling homes ignore potential warning signs.
"Listen to your intuition," he tells Inside Edition. "If your intuition"s jumping up and down saying, "Whoa, something doesn"t seem right with this situation," respond to that feeling and don"t put dollar signs in front of your personal security."
Siciliano offered Inside Edition safety tips for anyone selling a home. Among them:
At no point put your back to the person being shown the house. Also, never follow a "client" into a tight space where there is no exit, like a basement, closet, or even a bathroom.
Linda Tedesco tells Inside Edition she is now much more security conscious. She makes potential clients meet her at the office before showing a home.
But, she says she still worries about getting attacked again. "I"m still not comfortable," she tells Inside Edition. "If you were to come to me and want to look at a house, I"ve never met you, I"m still nervous. I"m still nervous."
The story was important to air, says Jim Kelly, spokesperson for Inside Edition. "When we saw the statistics of the Realtors killed or attacked," says Kelly, "and talked with the Real Estate Safety Council, we knew it was a serious safety issue that affects every Realtor in the country. We wanted to draw attention to it, and make people think about the safety issue and what they can do to protect themselves."
To watch Inside Edition in your area, click here for station and show times.