After 38 years in the business, Suffolk real estate agent Priscilla LeMoine has had plenty of cause for creating her own personal safety rules.

“I’ve had several (prospective clients) say, ‘I don’t get off work until 6:30 p.m. Can you meet me’ at such-and-such address,” LeMoine said.

That’s a red flag, she said, especially when the prospective client is male.

The issue hit the news last week when The Virginia Association of Realtors warned agents about a man who’s called several female agents in southern and central Virginia — reportedly none in Suffolk — asking to be shown homes.

No caller ID appears, and the man says he can’t meet during the day, in a public location or at their office.

“This is one of the situations that Realtors face that sets off our alarm bell,” according to Deborah Baisden, association president.

“Realtors generally have their radar working and can identify a potentially threatening situation. However, we are very concerned about our members’ safety and want to alert them to any suspicious behavior.”

LeMoine, now a sales executive with East West Realty, recalled one man who became very indignant when she refused to meet him after hours at a vacant property.

He came into her office, and then called again the next day with the same request.

“I said I could meet the next night, and then that night I took my husband with me,” she said. “We went in and looked at the property, but I never heard back from him again.”

Real estate agents have been lured to bogus showings and murdered in the past, like Ashley Okland, 27, killed in a model home in Iowa in 2011.

The dangers of the job seemed to rise after the foreclosure crisis started in 2008. LeMoine said Realtors can become overzealous and take risks when the market is down.

As far as the association knows, none of its agents have agreed to meet with the unidentified man whose phone calls are ringing alarm bells in Virginia. He has been reported to law enforcement.
LeMoine advised agents to meet with new clients at the office first, and have someone take down their license plate number. And they should make sure the office knows where they are during showings, she said.

“You never want to answer your phone when the number is blocked,” she said. “That, to me, is a red flag. I might be losing some sales, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Male real estate agents should be just as cautious as females, LeMoine said. “You never know when someone’s going to rob you,” she said.

“Sometimes you need to be a little bit afraid to be safe.”