January 11, 2001

Lock boxes may provide crime clues

As I boarded the packed bus heading through the heart of downtown Seattle, two elderly women had taken the biggest local news story of the week to heart.

"I think Realtors are nuts to go into some of those homes alone," one woman said. "Can you imagine going upstairs in one of those big, dark places? It’s one of the reasons I sold our place after Bob died."

"If I were selling my house," the other one said, "I don’t know if I would trust one of those lock boxes."

Perceptions are difficult to alter. While the recent slaying of a veteran real estate agent in a popular suburb was tragic and stunning, it did not come from a breakdown in the lockbox system. Typically, the lockbox, a portable safe holding the key to a home for sale and usually fastened to the door or found close to an entryway — is the first device mentioned as suspect when a crime is committed in a home for sale. However, in this homicide, the lockbox may prove to be a help rather than a hindrance.

The body of Michael Emert, 40, an agent with Windermere Real Estate since 1991, was discovered by the owner of the home for sale in Woodinville. Police believe Emert might have been showing the home to a prospective buyer when he was stabbed to death. According to reports, Emert probably gained access via a key in the lock box, which recorded his multiple listing association serial number and the time he arrived at the house.

"The incident was not a lock-box issue at all," said Jack Johnson, long-time president and chief executive of the Northwest Multiple Listing Association. "According to everything we’ve heard, Mr. Emert was already in the home when the incident occurred. In fact, without giving you a lot of details that police are still investigating, the lock-box system has actually helped track the homes Mr. Emert had seen around that period of time."

The evolution of the lock box has been significant and noteworthy. First introduced as a mechanical pouch in the 1960s, they were hailed as one of the most convenient tools ever to hit the industry, expediting home sales by providing access to all agents with the proper key or combination. Unless a seller signs an exclusive listing agreement with the listing agency, the home may be shown  — and sold — by any member of the association. This way, the home receives more exposure and reaches a greater number of potential buyers.

However, the downside of early lock boxes also was in the numbers. The seller, in exchange for exposure and access, gave up privacy and the ability to screen just who was traipsing through the house — and when. Keys were borrowed, lost and stolen. Replacement keys also disappeared, and eventually were issued only at the discretion of the multiple’s board of directors. Costs became an issue. Every three years, some multiples spent $50,000 to remake keys and locks.

More than a decade ago, several companies, including SUPRA and other notable electronics firms, hit the market with the first "state-of-the-art” electronic lock boxes. The cost of 5,000 devices was approximately $500,000, with Realtors paying monthly until the system was paid off.

"The system we have now is the best possible one available," Johnson said. "We spend a lot of time researching and evaluating, because our members don’t like paying for something unless its really worthwhile."

However, there is no fool-proof system that protects agents who constantly work with strangers in unfamiliar spaces and places. According to King County tax records, the home in which Emert was found was valued at $589,950 and was built in 1999. The four-bedroom, two-story property is on a quiet corner in an upscale neighborhood and was listed for sale by RE/MAX.

Police have been puzzled and frustrated by the case and no arrests have been made. Emert’s car, a 2000 black Cadillac Escalade sports-utility vehicle, was found abandoned at a nearby shopping center.

Emert, grew up in the Eastern Washington town of Walla Walla and attended Washington State University. He was a popular and successful agent who had several listings with price tags greater than $1 million at the time of his death. Real estate runs deep in the family — Emert’s mother-in-law and uncle are agents while his wife, Mary Beth, has been assisting her mother.

Windermere, the largest company in the Northwest, has set up a fund for Emert’s family.

(Next week: Realistic security tips for agents and sellers)

Previous columns:

• Housing's light grows brighter, 01-04-2001
• The real estate year in review, 12-28-2000
• Teachers get home buying help, 12-21-2000
• A-Rod could have made a lot on housing, 12-14-2000
• Westphal home yours for $2.8M, 12-07-2000
• New NAR chief sold on the Net, 11-30-2000
• Realtors caught in election confusion, 11-16-2000
• Pick up your commission at an ATM, 11-09-2000