On my drive into work today I listened to a story on NPR’s Marketplace about real estate agents attending courses to carry concealed weapons. In this day and age a large number of the properties that a REALTOR goes through are vacant and oftentimes not very secure. These properties are inviting to animals and worse yet, vagrants.
When entering a distressed property, I am always nervous and make sure that someone knows exactly where I am. I haven’t yet run into a circumstance where I have met a person squatting in a property, but often when doing occupancy checks on foreclosed properties the immediate past owners are still there and can be hostile.
I don’t feel a pressing need to carry a firearm in Western MA, but I can understand why a real estate agent in other parts of the country might have a higher concern.
Fellow REALTORS in Western MA and beyond, remember to stay safe.
If you want to listen to the story that I heard this morning it is here.
photo courtesy of floodllama on flickr
The majority (90%) of what I preview and/or show is vacant, most often bank owned. Some of these properties can be rather disturbing. If I am alone, I go in with a friend or family member on the phone. I give them the full address of the location which I am entering. It’s not foolproof, but at least would reduce the amount of time before someone would know there is a problem and could get help.
I am very seriously looking at getting a concealed carry permit this summer. Our shadow inventory is out there, so I see a long time left of these kinds of experiences.
Thanks for sharing this!