September is Realtor Safety Month. No job is totally safe, including selling real estate. Agents are killed in car accidents, some are robbed, murdered or assaulted. Real estate agents face danger every day — which is why there is a Realtor safety month.
So far this September, I have attended a couple of free webinars with useful advice about how to stay safe on the job. Check your local association, state association or the National Association of Realtors for safety tips.
Those who feel safe on the job may be especially at risk and should review safety basics. No one is exempt from accidents or from being a crime victim, which is why I like to review the safety tips every September.
None of the safety tips for Realtor safety month address the deadly pandemic that has killed over 680,000 Americans and that has infected at least 41,947,697. Right now, there are over 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. every day.
It is easy to meet with people virtually and tour houses that way too, but most people want to meet in person and see houses in person and can easily find a Realtor who will meet in person instead of virtually. Real estate’s local conditions might be different in your community or clientele.
Since the pandemic started, I have cut down on the amount of time I spend indoors with others. No restaurants, bars or coffee shops for me unless they offer outdoor dining. For about a month after getting vaccinated, I felt safe but then the infections started to rise and have continued to rise ever since.
I have made my own safety rules because I can and so can you. Even people who do not believe in COVID-19 or in vaccinations get COVID-19 and some die. I am planning on surviving and believe that in the long run, as a group, vaccinated people will have better lives and better businesses.
No one in the ICU on a ventilator with COVID-19 will work on the 12 things they need to do now to grow their business or build their brand.
No one is allowed in my house unless they are fully vaccinated, and some will be asked to wear a mask. Vaccinations for COVID-19 have been readily available for free since January. I really don’t care what anyone’s personal beliefs are when it comes to vaccinations, and I rarely share my own, but it is Realtor safety month and according to the CDC, the unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die of COVID.
I won’t meet in person with people who are not vaccinated. So far, I haven’t even had to ask anyone about their status, they just tell me. I don’t want to have to ask. I tell them that I am fully vaccinated, and I let them know that I am going to wear a mask when we meet in person indoors, and consistently they have done the same.
If someone who can be vaccinated isn’t vaccinated that is their choice and my choice is to stay away from them and avoid situations where I have to breathe the same air.
There are some conferences coming up that I won’t be attending because there are no vaccination or mask requirements. There won’t be six feet of space between attendees either. I am sure there will be a lot of hand sanitizer and some hygiene theater but no protection from the deadly virus that mainly spreads through the air.
One of the conferences put out a statement saying that a person could contract COVID-19 by attending, and if they do, the conference host is not responsible. They may not be legally responsible but are they morally responsible if the virus is spread because of the event and attendees die because of it? Is having such an event during a pandemic without requiring vaccinations and masks the right thing to do? What about the speakers and the staff needed to run a conference?
Some folks won’t attend conferences that require that attendees and speakers be vaccinated and that require attendees to wear masks. That seems fair to me, we all need to feel safe. Some employers are requiring vaccinations which will likely lead to more job openings.
The hospitals are near capacity in my area due to all the COVID-19 cases. This is a good time to take physical safety seriously as we may not be able to count on emergency care, it is already being rationed in some areas. It is possible to die waiting for an ICU bed. This isn’t a good time to have an accident or a heart attack.
We have never worked through a pandemic of a highly contagious novel virus. The virus is a safety threat that should be taken just as seriously as any other physical threat to our well-being. Take some time during Realtor safety month to come up with your own on-the-job safety plan.
Teresa Boardman is a Realtor and broker/owner of Boardman Realty in St. Paul. She is also the founder of StPaulRealEstateBlog.com.
