On Saturday, February 2, 2008 a real estate agent named Lindsay Buziak was killed while showing a house. Lindsay was called by an unknown individual to show a vacant house in one of the suburbs of Victoria. It was noted in the article that she felt uneasy about the caller and showing but went anyways. Police were notified by an anonymous 911 call about Lindsay.
This is an absolute tragedy, Lindsay was a young professional with the rest of her career ahead of her. For myself being a young female real estate agent I can’t help but feel a bit less secure in my day to day dealings now. This is not the first time something like this has happened and both male and females have been targeted in the past. Although Lindsay did feel uneasy about the showing as a real estate agent it is easy to understand why she went. You never want to miss a potential lead or sale and this is probably why she went ahead anyways.
This raises a big question for the personal safety of not only real estate agents but all professionals that interact with the general public and in sometimes remote locations. For real estate agents we need to start developing ways to screen our clients for our own personal safety. In a market as hectic and crazy as the Saskatoon real estate market it’s easy to get caught up in the job and not think about your personal safety. It is important for us as realtors to think about it and for you as clients to respect that. Next time you approach a realtor without any prior relationship and if they ask you additional questions just remember that people must think about their personal safety as well as if they have never met you it’s only fair for them to ask a few questions.
Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.
www.karicalder.com