How do you protect your personal safety when your job description includes meeting strangers alone in empty houses, often after dark?
That's a question many real estate agents are asking themselves anew after the death of 24-year-old Lindsay Buziak of Victoria, who was killed Saturday after meeting a potential client in a newly built luxury home.
Police are investigating her death as a possible homicide. Ms. Buziak had apparently expressed misgivings about the client she was meeting, a woman who called and insisted she needed to buy a million-dollar home that same day, but she went to the appointment anyway.
Her death served as a grim reminder to many real estate agents of the inherent danger of their profession. A long list of real estate agents have been victimized on the job: In December, a Winnipeg-area real estate agent was sexually assaulted by a man who had pretended to be house-hunting; a Calgary agent was tied up and robbed while showing a home in 2002; and in 1985, real estate agent Beverly Seto was stabbed to death during an open house near Abbotsford, B.C.
Lindsay Buziak in an image from Facebook.
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"It's always on your mind," says Suzanne Senst, who sells houses in west Toronto. When she's showing a house alone, especially to male buyers, she always makes sure she has a clear path to an exit and she doesn't venture into the basement. She tells her husband her whereabouts and always keeps her BlackBerry in hand, ready to call 911 if necessary.
Real estate agents need to trust their instincts, Ms. Senst said. She recalled one potential client who gave her an uneasy feeling when he insisted on driving her in his car. Even though he was selling a $2-million house and looking to buy in the same price range, Ms. Senst dropped him.
"He was probably just a lech, but there are a lot of sick people around," she said. "I wasn't going to take any chances."
The Toronto Real Estate Board keeps a database of police reports on clients who assault, threaten or attempt to swindle real estate agents, which it publishes on its internal website.
The organization also offers safety courses for agents, president Maureen O'Neill said.
Her ironclad rule is not to meet clients for the first time in empty homes. She recalled one would-be client years ago who wanted to meet her at a house for sale; she suggested her office or a coffee shop near the property, but he refused.
"I just didn't like the sound of it," Ms. O'Neill said. "Your instinct kind of kicks in."
Ms. O'Neill says there's debate in the industry about whether agents should include their photographs on business cards and yard signs, something she personally discourages. An agent's smiling face can be a powerful marketing tool, she says, but "some people will pick a certain type and stalk them."
Ms. Buziak's death prompted Victoria real estate agent Tim Ayres to post safety tips on his blog yesterday, ranging from taking a self-defence course to limiting the personal information shared with clients.
"Remember, if in doubt, get out," Mr. Ayres wrote. "That sale isn't worth it."
Toronto agent Adrienne Hanbidge's rules include meeting unfamiliar clients at her office, never at night in an empty house; always driving her own car; and having her cellphone fully charged before evening showings.
Ms. Hanbidge remembered showing one vacant property: As she walked down the basement stairs, with the clients behind her, the lights went out. Her mind immediately went to the lock on the door at the top of the stairs and the bars on the basement window.
"I had a sudden realization that I could easily be locked in the basement in the dark with no way out," she said. Luckily her clients were not trying to harm her - in fact, she knew them well - and she had a flashlight, so no harm was done. "But it did make me think very carefully about my own safety," she said. "I'm sure every real estate salesperson has a similar story to tell."
