Two estate agents murdered, another robbed...

I was shocked to read in the news that two estate agents in northeast Ohio, Vivian Martin, 67 and 51 year old Andrew Von Stein had been found dead, and another robbed whilst carrying out viewings.

ABC local news reported that Youngstown Municipal Court had said that Robert Brooks, 25, of Youngstown, and Grant Cooper, 21, of Hubbard, were charged last Thursday with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated arson and kidnapping.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains said that, based on the initial information he had, the grand jury would be asked to consider death penalty specifications against the suspects.

The violence has prompted frightened agents in northeast Ohio to cancel open houses and avoid meeting prospective buyers alone. Heather Smith-Lapoint has been selling homes for Danberry Realty for twenty years. When she heard about killings she said, “The first thing I thought is, oh, that could be me.”

One safeguard is checking if they’ve been pre-approved for a loan. “Usually within less than two minutes I know where they work, their e-mail address, two phone numbers, where they’ve gone to the bank. Then I feel a lot more comfortable,” says Lapoint.

A reminder to all of us in the industry to make sure that we take proper precautions when showing properties to clients.