(Above) Beverly Carter and Carl Carter, Jr. (Courtesy of Carl Carter, Jr.)
Remembering Beverly Carter on the 5-Year Anniversary of Her Tragic Death
Sept. 25, 2019 marks five years since my mom, REALTOR® Beverly Carter, was kidnapped during a property showing. She was missing for five days before her body was found in a shallow grave. All it took was one appointment to devastate a family and leave the real estate industry shaken.
I’m continually touched by the kindness and openness of our industry to embrace my sweet mom’s story. I’ve often asked myself why Mom’s story resonates all these years later. I think there are a few reasons for this. First, she truly represented the average agent as a 50-year-old female, so I think many agents could, in some ways, see themselves in her. Secondly, I’ve seen firsthand the emotional response of shocked agents when learning of the predatory plan that led my mom to that showing. I’ve heard the following phrase more times than I can count: “I would have made the same decisions as Beverly. That would have been me.” Unraveling the complexity of this predatory plan, although uncomfortable, contains dozens of safety reminders for all agents regardless of gender or geographical location.
Since Mom’s passing, I have observed our industry continually strive to make itself safer, most notably in technological advances within the past few years. During this time, we’ve seen technology that’s already existed expand to incorporate safety features. I find it exciting to see lockbox technology, such as SentriLock, continue to enhance features to integrate home-seller and agent safety within the same application.
To expand on this point, I have seen a lot of real estate safety technology come and go, too. From my viewpoint, success in the agent safety technology space requires the development of practical solutions agents can easily incorporate into their everyday sales and service activity—not another tool they have to remember to use.
It’s been assuring and inspiring to see the National Association of REALTORS® REACH® program embrace agent safety through its program in recent years. Technology such as Trust Stamp and Kleard have taken the safety conversation from “that could never work” to realities that could help save lives. Additionally, the creation of the REALTOR® Safety Network this year has given agents a single forum to rally together in times of missing agents, fraudulent activity or in response to physical threats.
My sweet mom isn’t the only agent driving our passion at the Beverly Carter Foundation. Through the generosity of our industry, I have been blessed to conduct over 85 instructor-led training sessions spanning 32 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. Time permitting, at the conclusion of each of these sessions, I’ve been approached by at least one agent with their personal story of victimization. While citing my experiences with these precious agents is hardly scientific, they each reinforce the need for continual education, awareness and advocacy. I’ve been entrusted with stories of theft, harassment, rape and a few agents lost like my precious mom. We hold each of these people in our hearts as we strive to make our industry safer.
Earlier this year, Carl Carter, Jr., addressed attendees of RISMedia’s 2019 Real Estate Newsmakers Reception & Dinner, where he
was awarded Hall of Fame status. (Credit: AJ Canaria of PlanOmatic)
Looking to the future, I’m hopeful to partner with the National Association of REALTORS® to improve the results of their annual safety survey, as it is the best tool we have to gauge the overall safety trends and perceptions in the industry. Largely due to our independent contractor status, we have very few data sources related to agent safety and criminal statistics. Without the leadership and resources of the National Association of REALTORS®, we’d solely have self-reported data through the Bureau of Labor and Statistics and internet search results of specific crime coverage.
Additionally, I think we have a lot of opportunity to make safety resources more easily accessible and customizable. Personally, I would love to see downloadable safety kits that are easily branded for brokerages, as I believe they have the greatest opportunity for frequent, continual influence in raising safety awareness. I’m also hopeful that more Young Professionals Network (YPN) chapters will embrace the safety message, as they can inspire safer, more efficient business practices early on in an agent’s career.
I wish our industry a very reflective REALTOR® Safety Month full of opportunities and inspiration to examine your sales and service processes to reduce as many risks as possible. Let your safety practices be an extension of your professionalism.
To those precious victims through the years, we remember you, and we pledge to keep your tragic circumstances from being in vain.
For more information, and to join the cause for safety, please visit www.beverlycarterfoundation.org.
Carl Carter, Jr. is a REALTOR® and founder of the Beverly Carter Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving agent safety. His mom, REALTOR® Beverly Carter, lost her life at the hands of two clients in 2014. Since his mother’s passing, Carter has dedicated as much time as possible to spreading the message of safety. He has a Master and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from the University of Arkansas.
Have you read Aegis by Lee Goldstein of Real Safe Agent? It talks about the predatory nature of attacks on agents and how it is different from other crimes. It also gives real world ways to improve your safety at each step of the real estate process, including what our associations and MLS services can do to help.
Comment So sorry for the loss of your Mom. I just took the safety class through my Board Office and I wanted to Thank you for helping to keep all of us safe!
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to keep us all safe! God Bless You! I am so sorry for the loss of your precious Mom.
Thank you Carl for the work you do benefiting REALTORS safety and making people aware of safety issues a REALTOR faces daily. Best to you. Carol Baker, RE/MAX Suburban Mt Prospect, IL and Levitan Realty Naples, FL
Thanks for all you do, Carl. We can never talk about this subject enough. God bless you and your family, and blessings to all who keep sharing the Foundation’s message.
Cheryl C. Malandrinos, Real Living Realty Professionals – Wilbraham, MA
Great article and reminder. There are many ways for a Realtor to be targeted for crime. Keeping our keys, wallets and phones secure and inaccessible in our cars or open houses, even when we’ve screened customers or know our clients, is an excellent idea. A Realtor friend just recounted a story to me last night of having a client steal her credit card out of her car after they spent several hours together seeing homes. The client left saying she needed to keep a meeting but would wanted to write an offer later, and then immediately attempted more than $30K in a shopping spree at high end stores. She was successful in obtaining thousands in items before the credit card contacted my friend and asked if she was currently buying $2800 in shoes. She said no, immediately called the shoe store, and got the clerk to take a surreptitious photo of the customer and text it to her. Turned out to be her client, who had left her less than an hour earlier! Not one of the companies requested photo ID, and she racked up quite a haul before the card was declined at the shoe store. It’s interesting to note that my friend had represented her in previous transactions, and felt they had a good relationship. My friend did file a legal complaint against her client on the recommendation of the police department and credit card fraud folks, and the client failed to show in court last week. There is now a warrant issued for her arrest. Her proactive effort to answer the credit card call, and immediately contact the shoe store to get a photo was key to accomplishing a stop to this person’s behavior. Ultimately, it was very stressful for several months, including guilt about filing a complaint and having to take time to go to court as a witness. The takeaway is to keep our key possessions in our hands at all times, or securely locked away. I use a cross-body bag, as small as I can that will hold my phone, cards, wallet, keys, and wear it while driving and showing homes. I also use an RFD blocking small card case, so my cards stay secure. My phone is always locked, so no access without password. (There are great cross body bags for men, too.) It took me a few weeks to get used to driving with a seatbelt and the cross-body bag, but now it’s second nature. While it won’t prevent an armed robbery, it does keep the casual/opportunistic thief from accessing my belongings, and bonus: I never lose my stuff!
I teach new agents to our Company and show your presentation to NAR in all my classes. So compelling. Thank you for making it real.
Carl, You are amazing for taking your tragic loss and turning it into something positive. Your continued fight to keep real estate agents safe is truly appreciated and we thank you. So sorry for the loss of your mother.
Bless you for your work on behalf of your precious mother’s memory. I truly am so very sorry for your loss…..
I have had a real estate license since 1992. During that time I have learned to pay attention to my gut feelings. Once it protected me from going out to show some remote property to what turned out to be a fugitive of justice who had been running from the law for 3 years, having jumped bail in California . (There were not good ways to do background checks in the late 90’s like you can do now. ) He had been charged with rape. He also had several aliases he was going by. He was caught and was sent back to California.
I do appreciate the industry being pro active in safety for those in our profession.
I was so happy to see the realtor who was recently attacked i think in Texas was packing and shot her attacker. I can not believe how vulnerable we are as realtors and pray for our safety. I would have done the same thing this woman did and have probably been in danger before and just got away in time