By Steve Huffman

shuffman@salisburypost.com

Mary Arey, former director of the Rowan County Board of Realtors, sent a warning to fellow real estate agents earlier this month.

The warning came via e-mail:

"We are incredibly vulnerable!" Arey wrote.

She was warning real estate agents about meeting prospective clients (those listing a house for sale or those looking to buy) at a house.

Arey, owner of Arey Realty, said it's been a long-standing tradition among most local Realtors and also the advice of the N.C. Board of Realtors not to meet prospective clients at a house.

But she said not all real estate agents adhere to that advice.

"A lot of agents are afraid to lose a client," Arey said.

And so they try, she said, to be as accommodating to those clients as possible. Arey said meeting strangers at a house is risky, regardless of a Realtor's gender.

"A lot of men think they're not vulnerable," Arey said. "But a knife or gun is a great equalizer, no matter how big you are."

She said there have been no attacks upon local real estate agents of which she was aware, but said she knew of at least one such attack in Charlotte in recent months.

Almost 20 years ago, a real estate agent in Alamance County was seriously injured when attacked and robbed after he met strangers at a house he had listed for sale.

"At worst, you could turn up dead, mugged or raped!" Arey wrote.

In her e-mail to Realtors, she offered those in her profession some simple words of advice. Always, Arey said, make the initial meeting with a prospective client at the real estate office.

"If they are not willing to do so, you are far better off without them," she wrote.

But the safety measures that Realtors should adhere to shouldn't end there. Arey said agents should always photocopy the individual's driver's licence. Leave the photocopy at the office, Arey said, along with a listing of properties they intend to inspect.

She said that if the agent works out of a small office and there's no one else working, photocopies of the driver's licenses should be faxed to another Realtor's office.Realtors should work out such an agreement with one another ahead of time.

"If some seem safer than others on the phone, do not waver," Arey warned in her e-mail. "Be consistent. Don't make foolish judgments. If they're not willing to comply, they are not worthy or safe prospects."

What do you think? Post your comment below.