Lehigh Valley real estate agents are being warned of a series of concerning contacts over the past few weeks.
Several female agents reported receiving harassing calls and messages, according to a memo sent last week to members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors. The group represents about 2,500 real estate professionals in the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County.
Police have been alerted, but the memo does not say which department or departments. A message left for the realtor group was not immediately returned.
The harassing calls come a few weeks after a suspicious person made unsettling comments to agents.
The male asked to meet at an agent’s home, to be shown vacant homes, and said he was willing to buy any home as long as the specific agent showed it to him, according to the memo.
The group has a roundup of safety apps realtors and real estate agents can use here.
The National Association of Realtors has a list of safety tips, including showing properties before dark, limiting personal information, and letting someone know when you are going to an appointment and when you are due back.
The incidents would be unnerving anywhere, but in the Lehigh Valley the concern is heightened as the killing of a real estate agent in 1997 still remains unsolved.
On the morning of Sept. 12, 1997, authorities found the body of Charlotte Fimiano in an upscale, vacant house that had been for sale at 2147 Chelsea Lane in Lower Saucon Township.
The Bethlehem Township woman was strangled and shot to death. Fimiano, who was 40 at the time, worked as an agent for the Weichert Realtors branch office in Bethlehem.
Co-workers had said they saw her alive less than 24 hours earlier at the office and that she had left the office to meet a client at the house.
The murder remains unsolved 23 years later. There has been no motive identified and police have not revealed if they believe a client was involved.
Lehigh Valley Crime Stoppers has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information that would lead to an arrest in the cold case.
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Sarah Cassi may be reached at [email protected]
Lehigh Valley real estate agents warned of harassing messages, client’s ‘unsettling’ comments
Lehigh Valley real estate agents are being warned of a series of concerning contacts over the past few weeks.
Several female agents reported receiving harassing calls and messages, according to a memo sent last week to members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors. The group represents about 2,500 real estate professionals in the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County.
Police have been alerted, but the memo does not say which department or departments. A message left for the realtor group was not immediately returned.
The harassing calls come a few weeks after a suspicious person made unsettling comments to agents.
The male asked to meet at an agent’s home, to be shown vacant homes, and said he was willing to buy any home as long as the specific agent showed it to him, according to the memo.
The group has a roundup of safety apps realtors and real estate agents can use here.
The National Association of Realtors has a list of safety tips, including showing properties before dark, limiting personal information, and letting someone know when you are going to an appointment and when you are due back.
The incidents would be unnerving anywhere, but in the Lehigh Valley the concern is heightened as the killing of a real estate agent in 1997 still remains unsolved.
On the morning of Sept. 12, 1997, authorities found the body of Charlotte Fimiano in an upscale, vacant house that had been for sale at 2147 Chelsea Lane in Lower Saucon Township.
The Bethlehem Township woman was strangled and shot to death. Fimiano, who was 40 at the time, worked as an agent for the Weichert Realtors branch office in Bethlehem.
Co-workers had said they saw her alive less than 24 hours earlier at the office and that she had left the office to meet a client at the house.
The murder remains unsolved 23 years later. There has been no motive identified and police have not revealed if they believe a client was involved.
Lehigh Valley Crime Stoppers has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information that would lead to an arrest in the cold case.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at [email protected]