KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Essential Safety Tips for Real Estate Agents When Showing Homes

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

Summary:This episode is a crucial and tactical guide to personal safety for real estate agents, especially when showing homes. The discussion covers a range of practical safety measures, including the importance of meeting new clients at a neutral, public location before a showing, using technology like safety apps, and sharing your location with a trusted contact. The episode offers a non-negotiable checklist for agents to follow, emphasizing that while they need to be accommodating, their personal safety must always be the top priority.

Welcome to the Agent Goldmine, the only podcast in the world, specifically for real estate agents who are stuck at five transactions a year to help them get to 20 plus. Your host, Alligarsed, and Shelby Johnson, two EXP icon agents each do over 40 transactions a year and interview others who are crushing it. In this podcast, you'll receive the knowledge to help you scale your business using systems and processes with our interviews and monologues twice a week. if you want to be a part of our community, reach out. Welcome to the show. Welcome back to another episode of The Agent Goldmine, where we, your host, Ali Garcad, and Shelby Johnson are giving you as tactical of tips as we can to help you increase your business. This is what we do. Today's topic, I'm covering how to stay safe when showing homes. And this may not be a very popular topic, but I personally have had a scare and an agent in our community has had a scare.

And so I want to, I want to, you know, prior to me being a real estate agent, I was a federal agent. And like, I always had a gun on my hip. Like, I had, like, I felt like I was just good. You know, if anything were to go down, like, I'm good. And then as I started showing homes, a lot of my clients were like out of state, usually out of country. So I would be going so to a lot of places, which I tend to prefer, but I would be going solo. And sometimes there would just be like creeps. So I want you to be aware of like trust your gut. And I'm going to give you some tactical tips on this too. So hopefully you can share with a friend if they have ever gone through a scare. Hopefully this helps them. And if you have any other tips that I

am not going to be mentioning during this podcast or like I forget or something like that, please let us know. I would love to maybe do like a more thorough one later on or maybe even have you as a guest if you are good at that. So when I first got licensed, it was my first year, I was going through a lot of solo home showings for out of state and out of country buyers. There was one time where I went to a house that was listed by a big company that no longer sells homes. And as I walked in, I, you know, took my phone. I locked the door behind me. I'll go into the tips after. But I'm on my way out. I'm wrapping up with the property. And as I am leaving, I see this kind of like sketch-looking van. It always ends up being like sketch-looking

van, right? Parked right outside. And a guy with without any like name tag or any sort of identifying, you know, hoodie or vests or anything like that started approaching me. And he's like tatted up to his neck. Not to speak badly about anybody tatted. But if you don't have anything to show your identity, you know, like your van is unmarked, there were a lot of red flags. And he started walking toward the right to the door where I was about to wrap up. So as I, he was walking too fast before I could lock the door. So by the time he got there, which is like 20 steps away, he was like, hey, I work for, hey, I need to get in the house. Like along those lines, right? This is like three years ago. So I don't remember verbatim. But he pretty much was like, hey, I need to get in the house.

I'm like, okay, I will lock up. And then you can open up right after me because I was a new agent and ain't no way I am passing a key to who anybody who I think is a realtor of, like, I'm not passing the key to anybody. I'm not about to lose my license. because of you. So I was like, okay, sweet. Yeah, I'll lock up and then you can get access. And without being like super aggressive, you know, the whole thing was very kind of like under the aggressive mark. So it was like I was letting shit slide instead of like the, you know, him charging after me and like, I know this is a threat. But he was like, oh, I mean, it's fastest now if you could just pass me the key. And, and I was like, oh, I just got license. And I'm scared of doing that.

You know, I straight up said that. I was like, no, no, I'll lock the door. And he goes, well, it's the company that sent me here because I need to check the water. And I was like, so he's the line that he had, it could have been true. This whole thing could have been true. And at that point, maybe there's a reason that that company stopped selling homes because of how schedule this was. But it was like, it started, I started to get a bad gut feeling. And I'm alone. This is daylight. You know, it's, I don't know what time, maybe like midday. But there's like no one really in the neighborhood. And I'm like looking around. Like nobody's out in the lawn. Like nobody's, there's nobody around. And I have dealt with the situation just like this before, not with real

estate. But I was like, okay, at this point, I don't feel good. And I don't know if this person works for this company that he says he's working for. And his van doesn't really look like it has materials. It just nothing added up. And at that point, I, because as he's talking, I kind of like, I turned sideways. So that way I still have someone of a look at him while locking up the door. So that way my back isn't to him. But I locked up and I was like, okay, sweet, just call the company and they'll let you in. He was like, well, but I don't have the code and it takes a long time to get to the company. And I was like, okay, I'm not sure what to tell you because if you work for the company, they're not giving you the code to go in, like maybe talk to the manager. And at this point,

I'm like walking out, you know, like I don't feel good. I have locked up and it was just something that maybe had I left the property a little bit late, had he walked in while I was still taking photos. Granted, the door was locked. But it could have been, it could have been worse, I think. So at that point, I like, I hadn't heard of a couple of, you know, stuff that I'll be telling you later in this, in the show. But it kind of, it stuck with me because I'm like, wow, I no longer have that gun on my hip. I no longer have like my badge. You know, I no longer like my sense of feeling protected went a little bit down. And especially the fact that like nobody was around. I think I could have yelled and it was midday. People are at work. People aren't home. So I'm like, huh. After that,

one of our teammates was going to a property to show a home by herself about like 45 minutes away in an area that does. She doesn't really normally like working. And prior to that, the listing agent told our, our agent, and he said, by the way, the seller likes to stay during the property showing. It's like, do you mind? And she goes, okay, that's fine. I'm just there that takes some photos and I'll be out of his way. So she goes down there and the seller is a total creep. He had such a big property that like he almost had like a cliff like on his in his backyard. It was like a cliff with no barrier, no ledge, no railing, no nothing. And the seller was really trying to get Aaron to the agent to go to go toward the edge of this like cliff. And he was like, well, I really,

really want to show you the view. And she's like, I can see it from here. And Aaron has more sass than I do. I'm like, so I'm very, very proud of her. Plus, she's like, hell across. She can handle her own. But she's like, oh, I'm good. I can see it from here. And I took my video. This is just for the buyer. I don't think this is his number one property.

And then he was like, okay, fine. Well, let me show you the basement. And he was very insistent. And this entire time he was hitting on her saying, like, how is she so beautiful? Like, look at her blonde hair. Like, all of this, do you have a twin? And she's like, well, I'm married. And that's what he was like, do you have a twin?

And he was like, well, I really need to show you the basement. And she's like, you know what? I don't need to see it. And so she started leaving the property and he was just like very, very, a lot more so aggressive than the guy that I dealt with claim that he worked for a water company for the company. And it was just like two scary situations. And after that, someone in Arizona, which is where we work, was killed at an open house. So it's like there are situations in which you may have a gut feeling and I want you to be able to protect yourself or at least just be aware of stuff that you can do to protect yourself. So I'm going to start with number one, which is the foreworn app. This will majority of the

time come included with your MLS, even if it is not included, which first ask your broker, hey, is this free for me to use forewarn, F-O-R-E-W-A-R-N. It should be free. If it is not, I 100% believe it is worth it, especially if you feel like you may not be able to handle your own. Look up. This is going to be more so for people meeting with strangers. So if you get your business from online leads that you don't know, you're going to be meeting people at property instead of just solo showings, I highly suggest looking at the Foreworn app. In my opinion, it's not the most intuitive.

So maybe go on YouTube and get your education on YouTube on how to use Foreworn. and start using it so that way you can run everyone's name and number and email through it. So that way you know who you're dealing with. Is this a felon? Is this? Who is this person? Number two. If you are looking to change brokerages this year so you can increase your business and you want to join us at EXP Realty

and would like either myself, Aligar said, or Shelby Johnson to personally sponsor you in. So that way you have access to two icon agents, text the word join to either my number, 914-318-49-18, or Shelby's number, 859-267-3849. If I sponsor you and you have access to the both of us and everything that's Five Pillars Nation, we have the checklist, the systems, the process is to help you scale your business, and don't take our word for it. We've had agents switch brokerages to join us that were stuck making $300,000 GCI, and they join us so they can scale.

So text that we're joined to those numbers, and we'll take the next steps. Before you start showing homes or doing an open house or whether you're solo or with someone else, share your location with your spouse, you're a family member, a friend that knows that you're going to be going on to a property. Hey, I'm going to be doing showings today from around two to six. I will be solo or I will be with them. So I'm sharing my location on either your iPhone or et cetera. Share location. Number three is. is if your state allows it, I don't know if there are any states or shoot, even if your state doesn't allow it. Maybe carry some mace. I, as a federal agent, we had training with mace

and we all had to be pepper spread. And it was the worst thing in the world, especially for my females that were eyeliner. I rubbed off as much as I could, but it like sticks on to that eyeliner, bro. It is so bad. So I used to carry mace up until the day that I got pepper spray. And after that, I said, if I'm ever downwind, like, I will never have enough time in a physical situation to be able to determine the way that the wind is blowing to make sure I am upwind. Because if I'm ever downwind, I just fucked myself. So I threw that shit out. I was like, I'm not doing this.

But if you trust yourself to do it, carry Mace. If you're meeting other people at a property, always let them walk in. in first. Be the last one to walk in the property. And if you're showing, you know, strangers, properties, don't lock the door behind you. I would say keep it open. Because if you ever need to exit, like super, super fast, the last thing you want to do is be fumbling over a lock. I would say wear appropriate attire. And by that, I mean running shoes, so you can bolt the fuck out of there should you need to. Don't look cute. But that's coming from someone who, barely ever wears a bra and always wears a hoodie and beady.

And but the opposite, if you're showing property solo, lock the door behind you. And overall, if you end up getting into like a situation or a conversation, try to de-escalate as much as possible. Instead of coming at it aggressively, which will only cause the other person to be even more aggressive and that it's a race to be whoever is most aggressive will win. This is what I used to teach other military members who were traveling overseas. I used to give them security briefs. The least aggressive that you can be, the better. That could save your life. If someone's stealing your wallet, let them steal your wallet. Because, that they're likely to do a lot more should you try to fight for a couple of fucking credit

cards. Um, so if you can, stay calm, be non-aggressive, maybe even throw in some jokes. You know, like what I said with the, what the person was trying to get into the property, I was like, oh, I just got license and I'm not trying to lose it. So I'm sorry, I'm going to lock up this door and then you can open up right after. I'm so sorry that I have to do this. And so it's like, I don't know, stuff like that. Just try to develop as many, like, de-escalation skills as possible. And also at the same time, being assertive. Like, this is what Aaron did, where she was like, I don't need to be at the very edge of this cliff.

I can see the view from here. I don't need to go to the basement. I am done. Also, if you work in areas that are maybe far away or you don't feel comfortable. showing it, don't go. Like, don't even bring a friend. Just don't go. Say, sorry, I don't, sorry, client, I don't work those areas. That is okay. That is not steering. That is drawing your own personal boundary of where you feel comfortable because nothing is worth your life. There is no commission check that is big enough to make it worth your life. I promise you that.

Number, I don't know what we're on right now. 10, 9, maybe take some self-defense classes. And overall, the last tip is to just trust your gut. Your gut will tell you. Like, your mind, when you're in situations like that, your mind will think a mile a minute. It's analyzing stuff a lot faster than you think you're even analyzing at. Because it was only after I sped away from that situation that I noticed that there was no, that I, like, took a step back and, like, realized there was nobody outside. Like, I feel like I could have yelled. and there were no cars in the driveway.

So your brain is like, is observing. And even though your mind hasn't thought it yet out loud, your brain is able to see a lot of things. And there's like a lot of examples of like military, you know, active duty to people in combat situations where they just got blown up and they know exactly where their teammates are. It's like, it's kind of weird. But like you just, your brain assesses a situation very fast. So trust your gut. That's what's telling your gut. So short episode, Shelby L, do you have any questions?

No, I mean, dude, I actually, I really enjoyed that, which is funny because before we hit record on this, I was like, I would never listen to this episode on staying safe. I would skip. But no, I thought your story really brought it to life for me and I was a little freaked just thinking about it. And also, yeah, the tips are really good. And I need to be better about this shit because I'm like so trusting. Yeah. Yeah. And women tend to be more trusting than men. So, you know, if you want, bring a

friend. I hope that this helped. If there are any other tips that I had like tactical stuff that I haven't gone over, please let me know. I would love to share it with the world. So thank you so much. Share this with someone who may be a little bit scared. And yeah, be a bro. Share this show.