3 Personal Safety Tips for Real Estate Professionals

You're on your way home after a long day of work. You get a call from a renter about a pressing maintenance issue with one of your properties. It is after dark, but being the caring landlord/investor/human being you are, you would like to take care of the issue promptly; your open-door policy and Johnny-on-the-spot reputation for dealing with renter problems is one of the reasons for your success.

So you head over to the property -- alone -- and the renter isn't there yet. The streetlight is on the blink, so you're in a pocket of darkness that leaves you feeling ill-at-ease. You hear footsteps rush up behind you (Where did they come from so fast?) and all of a sudden, you're in a situation you never expected to find yourself.

"Real estate investor" probably isn't at the top of most people's mental list of hazardous job titles. But whether it inspecting properties you're considering for purchase, collecting rent, or dealing with maintenance issues, there are numerous situations in which safety should be a concern for the conscientious real estate investor.

With that in mind, I wanted to share a few personal safety tips to keep in mind when out and about.

1. The Buddy System

Some of the things you learned in elementary school were just plain good advice. Don't eat paste. Share with others. And, of course, the one with the most relevance to our discussion: Take a buddy. There's no real estate situation that's pressing enough for you to compromise your safety. If you don't feel comfortable going alone, don't. Two people are much less of a target than one.

2. Real Alert

This is smartphone app we've talked about before in a previous post (3 Real Estate Smartphone Apps for Investing), but it's one that merits another mention. It's a personal safety app that has several safety features you can use when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory. Features include: quick-tap access to 911, an alarm to frighten away would-be attackers, and the ability to use GPS to find the nearest hospital to your current location. At $1.99, it's a steal.

3. Take a self-defense class

Before you shrink at the thought of being thrown around like a rag doll by a guy who watches way too much UFC or some muscle-bound black-belts forcing you to break boards over your head, hear me out. I'm not talking about a martial arts program that you need to devote yourself for years -- or even months, necessarily. What you're looking for is a short-term class -- even a one-day workshop could be helpful -- that could teach you some very basic, very effective strategies to give you the confidence and means to defend yourself it you were put in a tough position.

Have you ever found yourself in a less-than-desirable situation in which these personal safety tips might have been helpful? Please share in the comments.