Safety Protocols for Solo Agents: Staying Secure in the Field
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Do you know anyone willing to purchase a home sight unseen? Many prospective homeowners need to visit a property to get a feel for the building, visualize themselves in the space and identify any concerns. Because of this, showings are a crucial part of closing deals and making sales.
Unfortunately, for solo real estate agents, entering vacant properties to meet strangers can present serious safety risks and create feelings of stress or anxiety. SPARK, the Association of Real Estate Professionals, understands prioritizing real estate agent safety isn’t optional — it’s essential.
That’s why SPARK put together an informational guide to help agents understand the risks they face and learn ways to improve their wellbeing.
Understanding the Risks of Showing Properties Alone
Due to the nature of the industry, agents can face numerous concerns when showing properties alone. Harassment, intimidation, assault and theft are all examples of crimes of opportunity that can take place.
With coordinated showings, you might have some information about the individual ahead of time, such as their name, address and contact information. However, they are still practically a stranger to you. Host an open house, however, and you cannot control who steps through the door.
Through the combination of public advertising to increase awareness, open access to these homes and the isolation of real estate agent work environments, showing properties alone is a genuine safety concern for agents of any age, experience level or gender.
Practical Safety Tips for Agents
How often do your colleagues or family know the property at which you are? Do you have a way of telling them if you feel unsafe? No one wants to ask themselves these questions during a stressful situation. Instead, with a little proactive effort, you can make some basic changes to your property showing routine to reduce your risk and enhance your support system:
- Schedule showings during daylight hours – Even the safest neighborhood can look like something out of the ‘80s horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street at night. Agents often work late hours to accommodate potential buyers’ schedules, even though there’s greater potential for crime. Keep your showings to daytime hours to reduce risk and maximize safety.
- Always share your schedule – Keeping someone you trust in the loop regarding where you’re going and who you’re meeting is a valuable safety practice. This way, if something happens, people are more likely to notice, and it’ll be easier for them to determine where you are by referencing your schedule.
- Use a code word – Code words aren’t only for the world of secret agents and super spies. These innocuous short words or phrases can subtly tell others, like your coworkers or family, that something is wrong. Choosing a discrete yet memorable word is key.
- Park strategically – If something goes wrong during a showing, you need the ability to remove yourself from the situation and get to safety. Poor parking decisions, however, can throw a wrench into a quick escape. Therefore, always park somewhere you can exit quickly without being blocked in.
These tips can help you enhance your on-site safety and wellbeing. However, taking advantage of innovative technological solutions can increase your confidence and manage risk before ever meeting buyers face-to-face.
Leveraging the Power of Technology
Technology is vital in today’s real estate sales practices, connecting prospective home buyers with the property of their dreams. It’s also made it easier than ever for agents to protect themselves while working solo.
One of these tools, the FOREWARN App for Real Estate Agents , allows real estate professionals to practice instant due diligence with as little as an incoming phone number. FOREWARN gives agents access to important identity information before in-personal engagements, such as verifying a prospect’s identity, viewing their criminal history, confirming financial data and validating current assets.
Pre-screening clients with personal safety tools for agents, like FOREWARN, isn’t just smart — it’s necessary for modern real estate agents and their employers. Client screening , or gathering and examining the personal information of prospective buyers before meeting them for the first time, is valuable from a safety perspective and a sales one. With additional insights via background checks, you can determine whether to limit your contact with someone and if any financial or criminal issues could keep them from purchasing a property before seeing it for the first time.
FOREWARN is powered by experts who understand your concerns and the risks you face. One of the many industry leaders they work with is Carl Carter, Jr., founder of the Beverly Carter Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving agent safety. Carter lost his mother, Beverly, in 2014 at the hands of a couple posing as buyers.
Fostering a Culture of Safety
Brokerages and real estate organizations should promote an environment where agent safety is a top priority. One way to start making progress on this important subject is to look to the organization that makes employee safety their business: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
These steps, inspired by their recommended practices for health and safety programs, can help you create a strong foundation for your safety efforts:
- Promote safety as a core value – Do your agents know you care about their wellbeing? Promoting safety as an integral part of your company culture will help encourage them to come to you with any concerns. Not only will this practice help ensure their continued health and safety, but it can also improve agents’ loyalty to your organization and increase retention.
- Create or provide realtor safety training – Too often, people don’t realize they’re in an unsafe situation before danger strikes. Providing proactive, annual training can help your agents recognize and respond appropriately to hazards. Some organizations offer safety training designed especially for real estate agents and agencies, such as the continuing education (CE) course Real Estate Safety: Protect Yourself and Your Clients from McKissock Learning. This course is available at a discount for SPARK members.
- Seek input and make improvements – Agents are in the field every day, and their feedback is integral to a successful safety program. For example, if they think incorporating a mandatory check-in and check-out protocol for solo showings is a good idea, consider implementing such a policy. The program can grow and evolve by encouraging regular feedback in response to ongoing agent needs.
- Offer support and safety tools – Access to tools like the FOREWARN App for Real Estate Safety can provide an added layer of protection in concerning situations. Whether securing technology like this or establishing a mandatory buddy system, knowing they have someone to turn to can greatly assist agents in the field.
Stay Safe, Stay Informed
Solo showings are part of the job for every real estate agent, but they don’t have to be dangerous. With the proper safety protocols, driven by awareness of personal safety concerns and aided by technology, agents can protect themselves while confidently serving their clients.
At SPARK, we encourage all members to make safety an ongoing priority — not a last-minute effort. That’s why we offer our members complimentary access to the FOREWARN App for Real Estate Agents the moment they enroll, a $300 value. This innovative app enables safer engagements and smarter face-to-face interactions, providing greater peace of mind for agents, brokers and their families. With annual memberships starting at only $72 per year — plus, brokers get access to discounted membership vouchers for their agents — SPARK makes ensuring personal safety easier and more affordable.
To learn more about the comprehensive suite of real estate-focused professional solutions and personal benefits SPARK offers its members, visit spark-benefits.org.
© 2025 SPARK Association of Real Estate Professionals. All rights reserved. Membership in the SPARK Association is limited to real estate agents who are actively affiliated with one of Anywhere Advisors LLC’s real estate brokerage companies or Anywhere Real Estate Services Group LLC franchise network. SPARK offers association members exclusive access to association group and individual insurance plans as well as the ability to enroll in discounted and association member-only benefits and programs offered as special member-only rates and coverages. Not all members may qualify, and enrollment may be restricted to only members who apply in a timely manner or during the appropriate open enrollment period(s). Not all plans may be available in all states.
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