Choosing a profession in the real estate industry can be exciting, challenging, and rewarding in a number of ways. Some agents love the thrill of the hunt, and nothing pleases them more than helping a family find their dream home. Others enjoy the prospect of meeting new clients and prospective buyers via open houses. And still others relish the thought of making deals and closing sales. But for most people it’s just a job, something they do to earn a living that includes activities they love as well as aspects they’d gladly leave by the wayside if they could. Now, you might not think that being a realtor is a particularly dangerous profession. After all, it’s not like you’re working a construction site where a steel girder could fall on your head, arresting criminals that would shoot at you without batting an eye, or taking parties of vacationers through whitewater rapids. But the real estate business can put you into some potentially dangerous situations if you’re not careful. And you should be prepared to deal with them if they arise.

Most real estate agents spend at least a portion of their time working outside the office environment, generally by way of showing homes. You may be taking buyers on a tour of properties that fit their criteria or holding an open house for clients looking to sell. Either way you may have to deal with other agents, homeowners, and possibly the public. And when you’re confronted by strangers you should be on your guard to protect yourself (and possibly your clients) from possible predators. The Real Alert app can help you here with a mobile program designed to help you in the event of interactions with shady characters (or accident situations).

For starters, the app has a quick-tap alarm button. The majority of criminals are not too keen on the prospect of being caught. As a result, they won’t want to remain at a crime scene long, and statistics show that if they are unable to get what they want within about a minute, they will often flee. By setting off a loud alarm you may be able to scare away someone intent on attacking you or causing other mischief. This can be helpful if you’re showing a home and you find yourself alone with a predator trying to harm you, or if you catch a visitor to your open house stealing, for example. You can also dial 911 from the app by simply hitting the big, red “Call 911″ button.

In addition, you can use the “save creep data” feature to quickly jot down pertinent information to give police, such as a physical description, any information you have on the identity of the perpetrator (name, contact info, license plate, etc.), and even an audio recording. You can also alert friends, a function that is especially useful in the case of multiple incidents involving real estate agents showing properties. And if anyone should get hurt, the app will locate nearby hospitals (a feature that is also useful if someone should suffer accident, injury, or illness in the course of showing homes). If you’re looking for a fast house sale, criminal activity on the premises is not going to further your cause. But with quick thinking and Real Alert on your side you may just stave off attack, protecting yourself, your clients, and/or others in the vicinity.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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