RPR User Shares Her Quick and Easy Safety Tip

Unfortunately, predatory crimes against REALTORS^® is a very serious problem. If you’ve read any recent headlines or seen any news stories on the subject, you know that REALTOR^® safety is an important issue. Due to the nature of the business (open houses, talking to complete strangers, being places alone, etc.), agents need to be informed and aware of their situations and surroundings at all times. Susan Robertson, a 20+ year REALTOR^® from North Carolina and an avid RPR user, has a simple trick that helps make her feel a little more safe and secure when dealing with potential new clients. Her RPR safety move? “I check people’s addresses to make sure it matches the address on their license. It makes me feel a little safer when working with new folks that I don’t know yet.” It’s that simple. Sue uses her RPR Mobile app to do a near-instant address check. She puts in the address and with the push of a button, has easy access to all the property and owner information, including their full name(s). Here’s a recent and actual situation where Sue applied this simple safety check: “It was the day after Christmas, and I and one other person were in the office. A man walked in off the street and wanted to talk to someone about selling his home. I spoke to him, got all of his information, and then he invited me to view his home the next day. I asked for his picture ID and said that I needed to make a copy of it. As soon as he walks out, I hop on RPR and see if his address matches. A simple way to see if the person is who they say they are. An easy way to get peace of mind, and apply another level of safety.” (For more general information on REALTOR^® safety, visit the NAR Safety page.)

RPR: From Simple… To “Wow!”

Thanks for the tip, Sue! A really basic, yet effective way to use RPR. However, Sue’s RPR usage goes way beyond that. She also digs deep into RPR’s data and uses her RPR app almost daily. “I like to use the heatmaps, tools, all types of other things. When listing a house, I pull up RPR for the history, pictures, any info, especially maps to gauge the market hotness. If the client loves stats, I send them the kitchen sink, but I love the ability to pare it down for other clients. If only more REALTORS^® used it. They’d be surprised if they just used it!” And when asked about experiencing any RPR “wow” moments, Sue said, “My company usually hires experienced people, but they don’t all know about RPR. I always ask them, ‘Do you have the RPR app on your phone?’ They don’t always know about it and I tell them, ‘You don’t know about RPR!?’ Then I show them and they always go “Wow! It does all that?!'”