Seattle-area agents are reviewing their own safety procedures after news broke that seasoned 40-year-old Windermere agent Michael Emert was murdered January 5th, 2001 in a Woodinville home listed for sale. While investors close in a suspect, information such as whether Mr. Emert was showing the home or previewing it for a buyer, is being withheld by authorities.

According to the King County medical examiner's office, Mr. Emert died of "sharp force injury." Mr. Emert's body was found by the seller, who is represented by another real estate firm and was a stranger to Mr. Emert. Authorities believe that Mr. Emert's late-model Cadillac SUV was taken by the perpetrator and later abandoned in Kirkland.

Mr. Emert was associated with the Bellevue office and highly regarded as one of the firm's most successful Realtors. He received his real estate license in 1990 and joined Windermere in 1991. "Mike was always proactively working on behalf of his clients," explains Windermere spokesperson Stuart Miner. "His colleagues defined him as an amazing person because of his energy, sense of humor and integrity. His good nature made him an excellent agent who connected with people. Mike was highly regarded as a professional who went out of his way to help the client with their transaction."

According to news reports, the authorities do not believe that the murder was random, but that holds scant relief for worried agents. Real estate sales does offer some degree of personal risk, says Miner. "We had an outpouring of support from other agents which was nice to see," says Miner, "but we are going to work to get the industry together on this so all agents are safer."

John L. Scott, Realtors immediately responded to Windermere's tragedy with condolences as well as safety suggestions for its associates. An internal memo from Doug Tingvall to agents included the following suggestions:

Some things to be considered would be verifying that the client is indeed a legitimate buyer or seller. Have them meet you at the office rather than at the property. If you don’t feel comfortable with the person, simply don’t go or at least have another associate go with you. Always let staff know when you are going out to show, where you will be, who you will be with, phone numbers of clients, and when you are expected to return.

You can also get the license number of the car the client is driving and give that to staff. Some companies on the East Coast refuse to meet persons at the property, but rather they have them come to the office where they request identification and photo copy their driver’s license before showing the property. Although I don’t believe we are near implementing this degree of precautionary measures, we certainly need to draw on our common sense in dealing with the public in our everyday business.

Windermere is also taking action by working on safety training for agents through its education arm, Windermere Education. The company is also involving local police jurisdictions and plans on sharing safety tips with the industry at large.

Editor's note: Windermere asks that anyone who might know anything about the attack on Mr. Emert to please contact the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311. The company has also established an account to accept contributions on behalf of Mr. Emert's widow and daughter. Donations may be sent to The Emert Family Account; c/o Windermere/East Accounting; 14405 SE 36th St. #301, Bellevue, WA 98006.

Part Two - Windermere's Tips For Agent Safety will run tomorrow.