Real estate agents are often alone showing a house to someone who is a complete stranger or to someone they have very little knowledge of.  

However, with the help of some new technology, realtors can now learn almost everything about a person with just a phone number.

The app called “Forewarn” allows real estate agents to perform a reverse phone number search. Agents simply enter the phone number of the client wishing to see a house and within seconds, the agent can see the buyer's entire history. The app with show everything from speeding tickets, sex offender registry as well as other criminal records.

The search also pulls the client's financial records, allowing the real estate agent to see any bankruptcies or liens that the buyer may have.

Realtors say they never know what they are potentially getting into when they show a house to someone, but they tell Erie News Now this new technology is going to help change that.

"Nothing that any of us do is important enough not to go home at the end of the night to our families,” said Garrett Shames, President of the Greater Erie County Board of Realtors.

“There are a lot of things in society we can't control but this gives us a proactive tool to be able to defend ourselves better than not having anything,” added Shames.