Responding to the kidnapping and murder of real estate agent Beverly Carter, the Arkansas Realtors Association has formed a safety task force headed by former association President Karen Crowson, a broker for Crye-Leike Real Estate Services in Benton.

“We are going to be really working on specific things that we can put into place in Arkansas now and hopefully take it nationwide,” Crowson tells KTHV.

Ideas being considered include not allowing agents to show homes alone, and having them vet clients by photographing their license plates and driver’s licenses.

While the safety of real estate agents has long been of concern — Inman News explored the issue in depth in a series of stories published in 2011 — Carter’s death has sparked calls for the industry to implement uniform standards.

“MLSs and Realtor associations should work closely with broker members to create a set of agent-consumer ‘rules of engagement’ for their marketplace,” industry consultant Travis Wright wrote in a Sept. 29 Inman News guest piece. “Those rules could include standardized protocols for the identification and registration of all parties interested in property listings — before they go see homes with an agent.”

Commenting on another, unrelated incident, last month broker J. Philip Faranda said in a guest piece that not only do brokerages “need to adopt safety procedures and policies, and strictly enforce them,” but that a public relations push is needed to “explain to consumers why we need to know if they are qualified before we meet them at a home. The public needs to understand why we can’t meet them on a moment’s notice just to earn a possible commission.”

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×