| In the realm of “dangerous jobs,” being a real estate agent hardly carries the risk factor that, say, driving a taxi does. But beneath the smiles and salesmanship, some agents feel unease. In 2003 and 2004, 42 realty and apartment-leasing agents and managers died from violent attacks on the job, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of crime doesn’t appear to be going up, but the issue got a jolt of attention in the industry after two agents in Florida were attacked in separate incidents within the space of two weeks in March. |
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A few real estate brokerages require agents to leave detailed information on their whereabouts or to meet new clients at the office, not in an unoccupied or unfamiliar home. Others merely recommend those steps. Such procedures are comparatively rare in the day-to-day routines of the nation’s million-plus real estate agents, who say the nature of their business often renders those rules impractical. For one thing, many agents nowadays work mostly from home and visit their offices infrequently. For another, selling homes tends not to follow a schedule. A listing agent may get a call from someone who says he’s standing in front of a house whose for-sale sign has the agent’s name and number on it and asks that the agent come over now and show it.
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