A Peninsula real estate agent has launched a program to help keep others in her profession safe while showing homes.
Monica Donetti, a longtime realtor currently with Sutton Group WestCoast Realty, recently started an organization called Safe2Show, designed as a safeguard for female realtors who she said often take risks when showing homes to strangers.
The program establishes a network of realtors within certain geographical areas, who are then placed "on-call" for shifts that are pre-determined at the beginning of each month. If an agent has a showing to do with a prospective buyer she has never met, she contacts one of the on-call realtors, who will accompany her to the showing.
"I'm doing this because I just don't want to see anybody get hurt," Donetti said, noting in her 31 years in the business, she has heard many stories of scary incidents taking place at showings.
"There's no reason why we can't go to work and do our jobs safely like any other person."
Membership into the program is $25 per month, and Donetti said there are strict policies in place regarding "no-shows" and agents imposing on colleagues' potential sales.
"It's one strike and you're out," she said.
Donetti said she plans to donate part of each month's proceeds to a local women's shelter or food bank, and hopes to set up a scholarship fund once the program gets established.
To find out more, visit www.safe2show.com