Local Real Estate Agents Address Safety Concerns
Real estate safety concerns are on the rise after a recent house showing in Maple Grove led to a realtor’s death. 28-year-old Monique Baugh was a real estate agent with the Kris Lindahl team. Baugh was kidnapped and killed on New Years Eve.
“It’s like a big family. When we lose one of those, it’s a devastating blow for everybody,” said Minnesota Realtors Association CEO Chris Galler.
Galler said the best safety tip for realtors is, if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. He also encourages using a buddy system saying don’t go to a property on your own especially at odd hours. If nobody can come with, make sure someone knows where you are and what you’re expected time frame will be.
“We do regular training through our local associations. The Minneapolis association is one of the biggest that does twice monthly training sessions for realtors to make sure they understand this is important and here are some steps, not just to tell them it’s important but to give them tools to use,” said Galler.
Galler said there are 21,000 association members in the state who make more than 180,000 transactions a year. He said it’s rare that something happens to a real estate agent and he hopes the tragic event doesn’t discourage those aspiring to be realtors.
