Safety in Foreclosures

A really cute house came on the market today; great neighborhood
(Edgewood), 3 bed, 1 bath, corner lot, big oaktrees, covered 2 car
parking, etc - needs work, but it's only $89k! So - I went to see it
first thing at 9am. Inside this cute little fixer-upper house was a bum
sleeping in the 'master bedroom'. His foot was wiggling around, no
shoes on, sleeping on a pile of clothes for a pillow, on the pretty
hardwood floors. There was a cop car at the end of the street, and
I ran over to get them to escort me in the house. They immediately
pulled their guns out and asked me to stay by the patrol car while
they secured the property. They kicked the door in, chased the guy
out, and then told me it was ok to enter. Then they said that I needed
to be careful in these foreclosure houses and carry a side arm with me.
All that drama before 10am. I love my job. You never know what to expect.

With all that excitement in mind, if you are looking around at houses
for sale by yourself,
please consider these small strategies for safety:
1.) TALK LOUDLY AS YOU ENTER! Say Helloooooooooooo a lot.
Stomp, make noise.
2.) Peek in as many of the windows as you can before entering.
3.) Make sure you know where the doors are, in case you have to run.
4.) Always let someone know where you are. (We have a code phrase
that we use for emergencies; "Ask Paul about Lunch in Edgewood."
5.) If you are worried or nervous, just don't go inside at all. Save it
for another day.