Realtors ask for personal information to keep agents, buyers safe

Texas real estate agents want identification

HOUSTON – Area Realtors say the disappearance of an agent who was showing a home in Arkansas has some of them thinking more critically about how to stay safe on the job.

The man suspected of kidnapping real estate agent Beverly Carter was arrested Monday. Police arrested Arron Michael Lewis, 33, in Little Rock. Carter went missing Thursday from a home she was showing near the city.

"Safety and security is something we don't think about too often and we should," said Realtor Kenya Burrell, who is the secretary for the Houston Association of Realtors.

She has been showing homes for 13 years and says anytime there is an incident involving a real estate agent, it gets the real estate community talking.

"What I do is contact my husband and ask him to make sure he's in the area or make sure he's aware of where I am in the event something does happen," Burrell said.

Buyers looking at homes may notice they are asked for more personal information than in the past, according to Shad Bogany, former chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors.

"When someone calls, agents might start bringing the client into the office to get a copy of their driver's license. They might be asked to fill out a guest book. All that is done before you go out to show homes," Bogany said.

That's advice Burrell puts into her business routine and expects many of her co-workers to start following too.

"I think it's important to have that person, who you don't know, meet you at the office for the first time," she said. "This is a large transaction you are making, and asking for identification to see a home is something very reasonable to consider."

She had an uncomfortable situation with her safety when she went into a home overtaken by squatters years ago.

"There were charges pressed on someone who was taking electricity from one property to another. There was also actually someone living in the home when the owner was not there," she said.

If you have a tip for investigative reporter Jace Larson, email him at jlarson@kprc.com.

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