I asked 100 real estate agents and office managers if they have an office policy that requires them to meet new prospective clients at the office. Not surprisingly, only 4 responded that yes, it is a required office policy to meet a prospective buyer or seller at the company office to properly document their new client's information.

In the Southeast throughout 2003, there has been a predator terrorizing agents. First, he would show up to an open house with a supposed wife and kids tagging along. This technique allowed him to immediately gain the agent's confidence. Once he established the confidence of the agent, he would secure her contact information via a business card.

He would promptly follow up and request to see additional properties. Eventually, after the 2nd or 3rd meeting, he would hold them at gunpoint, tie them with duct tape and rob them. This particular predator didn't rape, he just robbed. However he would lock his prey in a closet and leave them to fend for themselves.

The first thing any agent should do is to properly identify their clients ahead of time. The Washington Association of Realtor has created a PDF or Word document that you can reprint to get your prospect's full contact information either at the office or at an open house.

If anyone of the agents in the Southeast had properly identified the predator, they would have seriously reduced their chances of being attacked.

When I suggest this simple technique to agents, their first response is "fear of offending." Agents feel that asking for identification will offend and impede the relationship. This is simply not the case. In this day and age you will hardly find anyone offended by being asked for identification. In a post 9/11 world where airport screeners are just about doing body cavity searches, showing ID's at 3-4 different locations at an airport is a nonoffensive requirement we have all gotten quite used to.

Even if you meet a client at an open house and don't have an opportunity to have them fill out an ID form, the next time they contact you, require them to meet you at the office. Introduce them to other agents or office staff. Have them shake a few hands and see how they interact. If they seem uncomfortable or uneasy, then that should be a red flag. If your intuition or a fellow employee's intuition senses something's off, respond to this feeling.

When a seller calls the office looking to get an appraisal of their property, have them come to the office first and fill out identifying documentation. Earlier in the year in Boston, two agents went to a prospective seller's property when he cornered both of them in the attic an attempted an assault. One agent fought him off with a pen while the other wrestled with him. Both agents got away.

If they had required the prospect to meet them at the office to fill out required documentation, this incident probably wouldn't have happened.

You tell your kids not to talk to strangers. Take your own advice. Properly identify your prospects whether buying or selling.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Make sure you visit MobileCallback.com to find out about a personal security service designed for Realtors. The service is easy to use and FREE through January 1, 2004. More>>