As we enjoy this last weekend in October the weather is about to deal us a difficult blow as we start the week.  Overnight Sunday into Monday there is a storm that is on the brink of being classified a hurricane racing up the coast, so make sure to “batten down the hatches” where you are responsible, and prepare for possible power outages and localized flooding from the volume of rain predicted.

As we close out the month of September early this next week, this will also close out this year’s National Realtors Safety Awareness Month for this year. Topics of focus that you may or may not have in your occupation, is to “always have an out” and to always be thinking ahead as to emergency planning and preparedness for personal safety. Simple things like if your vehicle happens to break down, what do you have on hand for safety gear in the car should that happen? The nature of being a Real Estate Agent is that we are often meeting with people we do not know or that we are meeting in person for the first time, possibly in rural, vacant, remote locations, and recent National statistics demonstrate at least four out of ten Real Estate Agents had been in a situation where they’d experienced something odd or difficult which made them uncomfortable or fear either for their personal safety or for the privacy of their personal information. Sadly, in any professional business environment difficult situations can arise.  We each take very seriously the safety of everyone in our profession along with those here in our great Maine Sebago Lakes Region community we diligently serve. Safety matters for us all, and if you see what may or may not be suspicious or unsafe behavior, common sense is the best rule, as is doing our best to treat each other as if we are all valued neighbors as we go about our day to day.

I was made aware of a story this week where an acquaintance and her brother saw a dog that appeared confused or lost when they were leaving an event in a nearby town, and they took the time to safely approach the animal, remove it from the side of the very busy highway where they were, and they started knocking on doors and businesses in the area in both directions until they found someone who both knew the animal and pointed them in the right direction, returning the pet about a ¼ mile to the great appreciation of the animals owners. Safety matters. Make it a safe and great week!