This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube news segment titled "Realtor Safety and Security www.RealtySecurity.com" (posted Feb 19, 2007). It's a televised report in which reporter Matt Mahar recounts violent incidents involving realtors, interviews realtor Linda Tedesco about her robbery and assault while showing a home, and presents safety and self‑defense advice attributed to security consultant Robert Siciliano (given in the transcript as an unnamed speaker). The piece focuses on realtor and home‑seller safety practices, statistics about attacks on realtors, and practical tips for avoiding or surviving attacks.
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Most of us would never agree to meet a stranger at an empty house. It goes against every safety rule we've ever been taught. But if you are selling a home, you have probably done just that. You've met with people about whom you know nothing in a setting where no one else is around. For realtors and sellers alike, it can sometimes have deadly consequences. Matt Mahar reports.
It's got everything you're looking for.
Linda Tedesco is a successful real estate agent who shows high-end homes in Central Florida. She prides herself at connecting with potential home buyers.
Beautiful.
But Linda wasn't prepared for what happened when she went to meet a man who'd called her agency last February and said he was interested in this property near Daytona Beach.
I remember looking at him and saying, "Wonder why he's carrying a briefcase?" And he doesn't look like he can afford this house.
As Linda showed the home, her concerns grew, but she ignored her intuition.
I'm not gonna lose a big sale, I told myself.
Linda admits that she let her guard down, and she soon found herself cornered in a walk-in closet.
And he said, "This is a robbery. My team is in place. Get down." I was terrified.
The robber tore off her valuable jewelry, bound her with duct tape, and threw her to the closet floor.
I didn't know if they were going to kill me or if they were going to rape me and then kill me, but I just had it in my head that I wasn't going to get out of there one way or another.
Incredibly, Linda managed to free herself and ran to a neighbor's home. Linda's attacker, Richard Pate, was convicted on kidnapping and robbery charges after he allegedly robbed several other realtors.
You're just very vulnerable.
Unfortunately, Linda Tedesco's story shouldn't shock you. According to the Real Estate Safety Council, in less than a 20-year period, more than 200 realtors have been killed on the job. Just last month, realtor Garland Taylor was killed as he was showing this million-dollar home in an Albuquerque, New Mexico suburb. Police say Mario Lucas Chavez, who has pleaded not guilty, pretended to be a prospective buyer and shot Taylor in the back of The head. And the double murders of realtors Lori Brown and Cynthia Williams in November of 2003 shocked the profession. The two were shot to death in the model home of a prosperous Atlanta-area subdivision. Williams' sister couldn't believe she had been targeted.
When my husband told me that my sister— I lost my sister, my little sister— I, I was, I was shocked.
Police say this man, Stacy Ian Humphreys, killed the two women during a robbery. He has pleaded not guilty to two first-degree murder charges. And it's not just realtors who are at risk. Diane Hollick was trying to sell her own home in Austin, Texas, when this man, Patrick Russo, posing as a buyer, strangled her to death.
Listen to your intuition.
The problem has gotten so bad that realtors groups across the country are now making safety a priority. Security consultant Robert Siciliano teaches realtors to trust their instincts.
If your intuition is jumping up and down saying, "Whoa, something doesn't seem right with this situation," respond to that feeling. Acknowledge it and don't put dollar signs in front of your personal security.
Siciliano teaches self-defense techniques so realtors can turn the tables on potential predators.
I'm right here, you're in the getting ready stage, and a gouge to the eyes.
Go.
That is enough to temporarily debilitate somebody. A quick shot to the eyes can literally take somebody out for 5, 10 minutes.
Siciliano also has some safety tips for anyone selling a home.
As I bring you into the house, I'm gonna direct you where to go. At no point am I gonna put my back to you. You're always gonna be in front of me.
Another tip: never follow a client into a tight space where you won't have an exit, like a basement, closet, or even a bathroom. We're in the bathroom now.
Okay, you're in the bathroom. As a real estate agent, I'm not going in there with you because it's a very small and isolated area.
Linda Tedesco is now much more security conscious. She makes potential clients meet her at the office before showing a home. But she still worries about getting attacked again. How long did it take you to get comfortable showing homes again?
I'm still not comfortable. If you were to come to me and want to look at a house, I've never met you, I'm still nervous. I'm still nervous.
Another safety tip, whether you're a realtor or selling your home yourself, if you must make an appointment with a stranger to show a house, try to have someone there with you and take a cell phone along. For more safety tips, just go to our website. It's InsideEdition.com.
