For years, Allison Neal, a Re/Max agent in Columbia, has been selling homes. Now it's her turn to sell her own, and she's taking every precaution.

Valuables will be removed.

Only agents with qualified buyers will be allowed into the home.

"And I'll try not to be there when the house is shown. I'll get out," she said.

As an agent, Neal knows all about protecting herself, and about protecting sellers and their homes while they are being marketed.

She knows to check the doors and windows in her home after showings to be sure nobody has unlocked them for later entry.

She knows not to let someone inspect her home without an appointment, or while she's home alone.

And if she goes on vacation, she makes sure her agent doesn't inform potential buyers that she's out of town. Nor will she leave hints - such as piles of mail or newspapers - that she's away.

Though serious crimes stemming from the home-selling process are rare, agents can't ignore possible threats.

In 1993, a Howard County agent died after being beaten and raped while she was showing a home in the Hunting Ridge section of Baltimore, sending shock waves through the real estate community across the country.

In a similar incident in 1995, a paroled convict with a history of mental illness approached a female agent in a suburban New York neighborhood. He lured her to a home under the pretense that he wanted to put it on the market. He beat her and killed her.

Agents aren't the only ones at risk. Sellers also need to be wary. The Elizabeth Smart abduction case in Utah is sending out ripples. The Smarts' home was on the market when she was abducted, and her disappearance might not be related to the house deal, but aspects of the case show that opening one's home to strangers can be dangerous.

The main question is whether selling a house can be an invitation to predators. The answer is yes, especially when precautions aren't taken.

Local brokerages and trade associations have adopted tighter safety policies and guidelines to minimize the dangers to homeowners and agents.

Sellers and agents are demanding more verification and prequalification of potential buyers before they set foot inside a home. Many agents aren't willing to hold open houses, especially by themselves. Industry officials say the safeguards are working.

"Safety is better than ever now," said John Evans, chief operating officer at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. "As a company, we're teaching safety for new associates, just like we teach ethics."

Guidelines issued

The Maryland Association of Realtors, with 18,000 members, has issued detailed guidelines for sellers and for agents who deal with strangers every day.

"More Realtors are becoming concerned about it," said Debbie Hager, the association's director of communications, who wrote and issued an article on safety after the killing of the Howard County woman. "It's an important issue."

The National Association of Realtors has established detailed guidelines and produced a safety video. Real estate agents are educated on security issues before they get their licenses.

Though the Baltimore County Police Department doesn't separate statistics for crimes involving the real estate business, officials say it's not a significant trend.

"Theft [during open houses] is an issue, but I'm not aware that it's major," said department spokesman Bill Toohey. "Casing [of a home] could happen and probably does. People need to take the standard precautions and lock up. It's amazing the number of people who leave windows open at night."

Is this lack of a trend a surprise? Toohey says not really.

"A lot of agents are street-smart today. They understand what can happen. In that sense, I'm not surprised at the low levels," Toohey said.

"Security relates to the area where the open houses are held," said Joseph T. "Jody" Landers, executive vice president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. "Mostly, in good areas, crime is low to start with. And in most cases, several people are there. ... There are watchful eyes. It's not a vacant home."

Biggest temptation

Open houses are probably the most tempting for potential real estate criminals. Dozens of people can walk through at the same time without having to show identification. There is little control or oversight, so theft is a possibility.

Even if agents have a sign-in roster at an open house, there's nothing to prevent someone from using a fake name or refusing to sign in. That is the only precaution taken at open houses. No official identification is required, and no video cameras are used.

"It's a scary proposition today," said Rick Ray, a veteran agent with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc. "I can't frisk them. They don't have to show me ID. And the registry ... you think they're going to write their real name? Some people don't like signing a registry and just put down 'John Jones.'"

Real estate predators come in every variety - male, female, even an occasional family playing "divide and conquer," in which kids are used to distract an agent while the parents go through rooms and pilfer.

Most thieves, posing as buyers, target small items such as jewelry or personal electronics. But prescription drugs are rising to the top of the list of targets, according to agents and police. Sellers don't think to hide them.

A major reason that theft isn't more prevalent could be the typical age of the thieves.

"Most people are 14 to 26 years old when they commit these crimes. Then they mature out of it," said Cindy J. Smith, director of the criminal justice graduate program at the University of Baltimore. "If they went to open houses, they'd stand out. Few 24-year-olds own houses. They'd be noticeable" at an open house."

Effects of hot market

Today's hot market is both good and bad from a security standpoint. Many homes sell in a day or two without an open house, so opportunities for theft or casing a home are few.

Conversely, agents in their rush to make a sale and write a contract sometimes take undue risks by meeting non-prequalified strangers at the house instead of at the office. Newer agents like holding open houses because it gives them experience while also introducing them to potential legitimate buyers.

"We can't be with [agents] 24 hours a day. All we can do is teach them to think smart," said Evans of Coldwell Banker. "Then we let them loose. We can't be there ... if they decide to go ahead [unsafely]. They're independent contractors. We can only counsel them."

The best precaution is planning. Interviewing and prequalifying prospective buyers are good ways to protect sellers.

Knowledgeable agents and sellers often insist on meeting a prospect in the office instead of at the property. That gives the agent an opportunity to take names, phone numbers, addresses and to make sure the prospect is able to afford the home.

It also enables office colleagues to see the prospect in case identification is necessary later. Then - and only then - should an appointment be arranged.

"I tell my sellers that unless [the prospect is] with a licensed agent and is a prequalified buyer, don't let them in," said Pat Hiban, associate broker at Re/Max Advantage in Columbia. "Then, someone's checked them out. They can't give a bogus name.

"Find out who they are first," Hiban said. "Isn't it smart to find out if they can afford [the house] before they see the house? I've been in situations where they give you the willies. They're reluctant to share information, details or qualifications."

Is that an invasion of the prospect's privacy?

"Bad credit isn't a protected class," Hiban said.

Information, please

Agents want as much personal information about potential buyers as possible. Those planning to steal seemingly have the information they need at their fingertips.

For years, newspaper ads have printed where and when an open house is being held, and the price.

The Internet - with its virtual home tours, easily accessible property tax documents and personal search engines - is spewing out even more ammunition for predators. Multiple-listing systems are beginning to offer addresses.

A few years ago, agent Allison Neal agreed to meet a potential buyer at a property without a previous meeting at the office, but she took a partner as backup. "We saw a car drive by and slow down, and then the driver drove off," she said. "Now I never ever meet a stranger at a property. I make sure people jump through hoops and they're pre-approved. Realtors are one of the few people who put their photographs everywhere. You want the business, but you have to be careful."

Some sellers are still more trusting than is good for them.

Neal said she knew a family that was selling its home. One weekend, the wife was home alone with two young children when a couple pulled up and asked to view the house. The man offered to stay in the car while his wife looked around, so the homeowner agreed.

"After she saw the inside, the wife asked to see the back yard. There were two kids left inside alone," Neal said. "What if the husband had gone inside?"

Don't be complacent

Real estate associations and brokerages urge agents not to be complacent. Occasionally, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors offers follow-up safety seminars to its members, but according to Landers, attendance was light so the courses were canceled.

Peggy Mozek of Howard County said that when she was selling her home, her real estate agent didn't offer any safety advice when it was being shown.

"Everything was put away, but only to show the house well," Mozek said of the agent's suggestion that she get rid of the clutter. "I wasn't advised to hide things for [security reasons]. I just put faith in the real estate community ... but the security measures make sense."

"I think people should be smarter in the future," Hiban said. "Especially women. Meeting someone in an empty home at 8 p.m. is preposterous. Housing stock isn't cheap stock. Isn't it smart to find out if they can afford it and who they are before they come in?"

Safety tips for agents

Don't hold an open house alone. Never show property alone at night or advertise it as vacant.

Don't list your home phone number on your business card. Buy a voice pager. Use a cellular phone if you must hold an open house where a phone is unavailable. Call your office every hour.

Always take your car to showings. When you leave your car, lock it.

Let potential buyers explore a home on their own, with you following. Avoid going into the basement or confined areas with a prospect.

Let your office know whom you're meeting and where the showing will be.

Always have prospects meet you at your office the first time. Ask them to show identification. If they question you, say it's company policy.

Find out as much as you can about prospects, such as where they work, what they do and how much they earn.

SOURCE: National Association of Realtors