We would like to introduce you to our home buyer specialist, Eric Engels, Realtor® | Real Estate Agent serving the Janesville, Wisconsin area!

"Hello Rock County! I am very happy to have joined the Rock Realty team. I have been a resident of Janesville for over 13 years. I lived in the Quad Cites before that living in both Illinois and Iowa. In 2006 I had the chance to move back to the Quad Cites, I thought about it for about 2 seconds, but Wisconsin is the best place to live I couldn't leave. I am a big fan of the Midwest way of living! I am very excited to meet some of the great people in Rock County, and to help them in there home buying and selling needs."

"At Rock Realty we use the newest and most innovative technology to help us in our advertising and researching needs. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions you may have. Again I look forward to meeting the great people of Rock County."

Thanks

Eric Engels

Visit my site to search for Janesville, WI Real Estate Listings:

www.JanesvilleListings.com
(Homes for sale in 53545, 53546 and 53548 and the rest of Dane & Rock County)

Short Sale Real Estate Agents in Fitchburg, WI 53711 Are you looking for a Fitchburg Wisconsin Short Sale Realtor®or real estate agent? Rock Realty is a real estate brokerage that specializes in Short Sales and Bank Owned Foreclosures in the Fitchburg WI area.   My name is Michael Collins, broker for Rock Realty. I have completed the Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource training and have been given the SFR designation through the National Association of Realtors®. Feel free to contact me directly at 608-921-8536 for help with any of your short sale questions. I have helped many Fitchburg home owners with their distressed property needs.

• What is a short sale?
• Is a Short Sale right for my home?
• Half of Homeowners Underwater on their Mortgage
• Buying a Wisconsin home after a Short Sale or Foreclosure
• Benefits of Buying an Owner-Occupied Wisconsin Short Sale
• Tips for Buying a Wisconsin Short Sale

I just wanted to past this one along to ALL of my fellow Professionals....Please give feed on this one.

P.S. I think this comapny can HELP with it: Halo America LLC-Housing Solutions 4 America!!!

Ratio: 3.5 Million Homeless and 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the US

Diane Sweet
Crooks and Liars
December 31, 2011

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative along with Amnesty International are asking the U.S. to step up its efforts to address the foreclosure crisis, including by giving serious consideration to the growing call for a foreclosure moratorium and other forms of relief for those at risk, and establishing a housing finance system that fulfills human rights obligations.

New government census reports have revealed disturbing information that details the cold, hard numbers of Americans who have been deeply affected by the state of our economy, and bank foreclosure practices:

In the last few days, the U.S. government census figures have revealed that 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty or are struggling to live on low incomes. And we know that the financial hardships faced by our neighbors, colleagues, and others in our communities will be all the more acutely felt over the holiday season.

Along with poverty and low incomes, the foreclosure rate has created its own crisis situation as the number of families removed from their homes has skyrocketed.

Since 2007, banks have foreclosed around eight million homes. It is estimated that another eight to ten million homes will be foreclosed before the financial crisis is over. This approach to resolving one part of the financial crisis means many, many families are living without adequate and secure housing. In addition, approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are homeless, many of them veterans. It is worth noting that, at the same time, there are 18.5 million vacant homes in the country.

The stark realities that persist mean that millions of families will be facing the holidays in temporary homes, or homes under threat, and far too many children will be wishing for an end to the uncertainty and distress their family is facing rather than an Xbox or Barbie doll.

Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet every day in the United States, banks are foreclosing on more than 10,000 mortgages and ordering evictions of individuals and families residing in foreclosed homes. The U.S. government’s steps to address the foreclosure crisis to date have been partial at best.

The depth and severity of the foreclosure crisis is a clear illustration of the urgent need for the U.S. government to put in place a system that respects, protects and fulfills human rights, including the right to housing. This includes implementing real protections to ensure that other actors, such as financial institutions, do not undermine or abuse human rights.

There is a link available at the Amnesty International website for anyone who is interested and would like to join the call on the Obama administration and Congress to urgently step up efforts to address the foreclosure crisis, including by seriously considering the growing call for a foreclosure moratorium and other forms of relief, and establishing a housing finance system that fulfills human rights obligations.

Respectfully Given,

Dennis Ford Jr.

President

Halo America LLC

dfordjr@haloamerica.com

281-914-0502-Direct

www.haloamerica.com

Just an FYI.

The site PropertyTransactor.com has been updated to allow vendors and field reps to list their companies as available resources for REO Property Preservation.  The site also allows new agents and brokers to submit maintenance requests free for a year.  As an added value, vendors who register with PropertyTransactor.com will receive a listing in the Vendor List that is search engine friendly!

This is a new and emerging site, so its growth will be measured by the prefessionals who join the network as new members sign on.  I believe this will be a great resource for Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Brokers, Contractors, Sub-Contractors, Service Providers, Sourcers, Field Service Agents/Reps, Field Service Companies, Foreclosure Cleanup Companies and Real Estate Vendors.

I would love to know how this resource can work for you!

Hi there everybody,

As a certified real estate instructor that specializes strictly in broker price opinion education, I try to stay on top of industry trends. As such, I have been following a company for the last few months called, StreetLinks. They are a major AMC provider and soon to be provider of BPO orders nationwide.

I have had the great fortune of connecting with a fantastic representative from their company and have gain a lot of valuable information to help you guys save time and to assist you in being able to make an informed about if you should sign up with this company.

I would HIGHLY recommend taking the 15-20 minutes it takes to register to be a BPO agent or broker for them right away! And no I am not affiliated with them or getting paid by them to endorse their organization! It isn't every day that a new company pops up that is not only credible, but I think will quickly be a force to be reckoned with when compared to the top major BPO mills. From my research, Streetlinks should be able to offer decent volume across the U.S. right out of the gate, and if everything goes well I foresee that they will see huge growth in order volume because of having an already solid client base.

So, as BPO order volume is down across the nation, smart BPO agents and brokers branch out and sign up with more quality companies to increase their likelihood of receiving more work. Do yourself a favor and click on the link below to sign up with them, I strongly believe that you will thank me in a few months!

Today I spent about 15 minutes signing myself up at their website, here's a link for you to do the same: https://www.streetlinks.com/solutions/agents_brokers

Also, feel free to pass along this info to others in the business that you think will benefit from it!

Lastly, to wrap up this blog post I want to point out some important points of how this company operates, what you can expect from them and what requirements they have of their new BPO agents and brokers. Please take a few minutes to read through the short list below:

StreetLinks Price Opinion Panel members benefit from:

• Rapid Payment - Payment direct deposited to your account with 72 hours of report completion
• No Cost to You- No fees for signup, membership or marketing!
• Fast Order Submission - Get a free and easy to use online account to complete and submit orders
• Fair Order Assignment - Assignment based on proximity and your historical performance
• Exemplary Support- Full support services and training from our BPO support team
• NABPOP Membership Discount- Join NABPOP at a special discounted rate! StreetLinks offers preferred assignment status to NABPOP certified members.

(The above paragraph was taken from StreetLinks website. All Rights Reserved © 2011 StreetLinks LLC.)

Let me know if you have any questions too! Email me at: nicole@bpo-university.com

Warmly,

Nicole Ocean

Certified R.E. Instructor (WA State)

www.bpo-university.com

360-224-6988

Due to recent developments in the default real estate industry, we (as default professionals) have seen an explosion of real estate schools offering default courses in specific niches like, Short Sale, REO and Loan Modification.

Of course, I am sure we all can agree, a quality education can be expensive but, well worth it however, why would someone pay a premium for a quality education? For many of us, this question is mute simply because know the benefits of such an education.

The problem I see in the default industry with these real estate schools is that many of them are over promising, under delivering or plain negligent and in some cases, possibly even fraudulent with their claims. We know this to be the case due to the increased number of professionals adding their voice to the chorus of complaints, negative blogs and outright hostility towards many of these real estate schools.

So, if I was in the market looking for an education, what would I look for to make sure, I am getting a quality education. Below is my list of requirements any school would have to offer to get me to write them a check.

1. Books: If I am going to pay for a class, I want more than just a handout or screen shots of the slide presentation, I want a book. I want a book because, this lets me know that someone within in the school’s organization sat down and committed his knowledge and experience to paper. This is important to me because it commits the writer and instructor to a process of improvement and refinement. To be more specific, when students have a book, they are likely to go through, read it, question it and pose those question to their instructors and get answers. This Q & A process allows the instructor to refine the material, make changes to improve the material and becomes the single authority the class is built around. A book is very important.
2. Experienced Instructors: An experienced instructor is invaluable and very well worth their weight in gold. The experience of the instructor, coupled with the knowledgebase of an actual training manual / book, creates an environment where learning is maximized. Experienced instructors give the book and class a level of integrity that can’t be and shouldn’t be discounted. As a student, I expect that if I were to ask a question about a particular subject matter being taught in class, my instructor should be able to answer my question or, at the very least, have a resource from his experience to get that answer with no difficulty.
3. Uncompromised Integrity: The days of testing a students’ knowledgebase with an open book test are gone! If I am going to pay good money for a course, I expect that when I am done and it’s time to test my retained knowledge that I can’t just go and grab my book, open it up and look up the answer. I have never understood the purpose of these types of test. As a student, I took the course not to just get the “certification or designation” but, to actually better myself and increase my knowledgebase and likewise, I expect to be tested in such a way that evaluates my level of retention honestly so I may strive for success. Too many times I have seen agents walk into a training class with computers, IPads, mobile devices and the such because, the class was secondary to whatever else was going on. The class expectation was lowered because they knew the test was open book and all they had to do was be a warm body in a seat for a couple of days. This isn’t a class I want to be a part of.
4. Certification / Designation: If I spend the time, money and energy to truly learn and become a subject matter expert in my niche, I better get a designation or at least a certification. For many of you, this may not be important because, many of you carry certification and designations that came from open book test. I am looking for a certification or designation that isn’t achieved by just paying my $499.99 onetime fee and my annual $99.99. Give us a certification, designation that means something, that was something I worked hard for and people know I worked hard for.
5. Open Doors: People go to Harvard or Stanford not simply because they are good schools but, because they also know that those names on a resume will open a door. In other words, students know that paying $100,000.00(+) for a education will pay off as a long term investment, 10 (+) fold. Too many real estate schools are charging premiums for education yet, not a single door is ever opened with that education. Granted, I am sure that the majority of the time, the student can hold a good portion of the blame, when it comes to not making their education work for themselves but, I have never met a poor Harvard graduate. My point is, students expect that if they are going to pay a premium, it better be returned in business. I don’t think this is too much to ask, hell….I would expect it myself if I were looking for a default course to take. The reason many of these real estate courses out there today don’t open doors is because, they aren’t built around traditional education philosophies and instead are nothing more than money grabbers who make empty promises but, what is worse, the industry knows it and therefore, they do not open doors.
6. Mentoring: After I pay my premium, take my test, graduate the program, I want to know that I have a forum, a site, somewhere to go to find advice or provide advice to others who follow. Mentoring is key to a quality education because it’s a part of the process to open doors. People who have made it and can contribute a portion of their success to their education can then turn around and bring others up behind them through a quality mentoring program. Granted, I don’t necessarily need a one on one mentor but, at the very least, I need a library of sorts that I can go to, look things up, chat with other members and further my learning by staying on the cutting edge of what is happening real time in the real world.
7. No Annual Fees: I shouldn’t have to continually pay for my education, certification or designation. A education isn’t a service, it’s a product and therefore, should be priced around the idea that I will only pay once. I don’t got to the grocery store, buy a box of Macaroni and Cheese and then pay for it every week so, why would I do that with an education, I wouldn’t! Annual fees are nothing more than a education provider to milk his current students out of their hard earned cash because that provider knows it’s harder to obtain new students than it is to simply get current students to agree to give you annual fees when they sign up for your course in the first place. Annual fees allows education providers to become stagnate and lazy and I don’t want to pay them.

My point is, these 7 bullets are my concerns about what is happening in the real estate education industry. If I can’t get a majority of these 7 items filled, I don’t buy the class. Sad to say, really because, why can’t we have a choice where we aren’t looking to purchase based on these 7 points so much we are looking at the actual quality of education.

This is a timeline that I hope everyone will find useful. This is just what I have found to be the norm. If in doubt always best to check with your asset manger unless directed to send questions to their pre marketer.

Brandon Jordan

Do some quick MLS research to find out what Altisource Homes is up to in your market as a listing brokerage. If you are an REO agent you might be surprised to find that Ocwen is listing properties with Altisource Homes offices that are not even in your state. Sure, sellers can list with anyone they want to but local agents should be aware of this growing trend. Why? you ask.

Well,

If you perform BPOs for Ocwen and Altisource you might just find your interior BPO pictures posted on someone else’s MLS listing. Think it can’t happen? I promise it can because it happened to me. When I called my local Altisource contact in New Delhi they assured me that I was mistaken and that it was impossible that Altisource Homes in Georgia (8 hours away) had received and used MY interior BPO photos in their MLS listing in my local market. They asked that I provide documentation and that the issue would be escalated.

I provided the documentation over 2 months ago and have not heard a peep from Altisource. I have stopped accepting work from Altisource and always refer to the fact that I am awaiting an explanation on this specific issue when I reject assignments.

Has anyone had similar experiences? I have had numerous conversations with REO listing agents about Ocwen at national conventions and decline to comment further about Ocwen.

While doing some BPO work today for some multi-family houses it still amazes me the number of agents who do not fill out many of the non-required fields in the MLS.

It also was interesting that many of these "slim" MLS listings are REO properties.

Do people not realize that if you fail to fill out fields such as, # of units, number of bedrooms, number of baths, total sq feet, than many people doing searches for properties will NEVER SEE YOU LISTING IN MLS.

I also love the MLS description when people write... "Bank owned"... and nothing else.

I try to fill out full data fields, give multiple pictues (good and bad), and write an accurate description in the remarks field. No wonder my last 4 sales averaged 45 DOM.

That's my rant for the day.

You should market your REO team that you work with. This would include your vendors. Such as:

1. Maintenance and Repair and/or

2. Property Preservationist

3. Accountants

4. Assistants

5. Listing Coordinators

6. Transaction Coordinators

7. BPO/MMR Coordinators

Sometimes asset management companies would like to know if you work with a team and what are themilestones you have reached. So if you do work with an REO team, you shouldtake the time to create a marketing package that includes a brief descriptionof each team members unique qualifications that contribute to the success ofyour REO team.

This also allows the asset company to see that you are equipped to take on a good amount of REO work and completeit successfully.

There are several ways to market yourself as an REO Agent to obtain more business. I am going to
focus on a few. Listed below are two marketing techniques that you can utilize
for free!

1. Social Media

a.
Blogging – as we know this is can be a very
powerful marketing tool. And really there is no shortage of subjects to blog
about. Three quick tips to successful blogging.

i. Relevant and interesting material that will
solicit comments from your readers

ii. You need to do it on a constant basis to
continually build your reading audience

iii. Address a need that maybe your readers are
struggling with. Such as key tips on how to communicate successfully with Asset
Managers.

b.
Networking – Online or through conventions

i. You can join online groups that are relevant to
your industry

1. Once you join – don’t forget to participate by
answering and asking questions!

2. Creating Groups – if you are a blogger, this is
a terrific way to network online. You can produce your own content and invite
others to join. As your readership increases, you can offer free seminars to
the group. You can also invite others to produce relevant blogs/content to help
the group.

c.
Signing up with Asset Management companies

i. If you have the time, sign up with as many as
you can. And check back every month or so, to see what your status is or if you
have to submit up to date records.

ii. Signing up as an appraiser or recommending one –
sometimes the asset management companies are looking for other vendors other
than REO agents. If you can refer another type of vendor to them, that is a
good way to network. They will remember that you took the time to help their
business.

iii. Signing up to do their short sales – the asset
companies are also looking for short sale agents. So this may be a way for you
to obtain some short sale work – that is if you are willing. But this is just
another avenue to look at.

So these are just a few marketing tips. Feel free to add any additional helpful tips that you would like to share!

How Not Having the Proper REO Team can Jeopardize your REO Business.

If you have your REO Systems in place and you are experiencing growth, have you considered an REO Team?

If so, what would you consider looking for as you build your team? I have just chosen three tips for this post. There are many more, but I find that these three are important to building a successful REO business.

1. Experience

2. Education

3. Integrity

Experience

How much experience does the potential member have in doing BPO’s? What asset companies have they dealt with and for how long? What about tasks such as Utility set up and ordering services from your vendors? When it comes to the closing transaction tasks, how much experience do they have in dealing with escrow/title companies, lenders and co-agents? These are just a few of the question you should consider when building your REO team.

This is important because the REO market is different for every REO agent. And it is crucial to have a good amount of experience in dealing with asset companies, asset managers, banks, title companies, lenders and other REO agents. I have found that there is a basic flow to an REO transaction, but sometimes there are exceptions. And I have found that learning from that exception, adds to my REO experience. And I can add this to my REO process to reach a successful transaction.

Education

Training is so vitally important. Would you consider adding a team member to your business who already has been trained on various REO portals or someone who you have to train? Time is critical, especially when it comes to tasks such as BPOs or determining occupation status. Do they know the criteria for searching for comps for the BPO?

And when it comes to the contract to close tasks, how much training does the team member have in using various online transaction management systems? Such as EbrokerHouse, SettlementRoom, RELAY, TransactionDesk, TAZAREO, and others? Again, your time is important and having a member who is proficient in using these systems will save you time and money.

Integrity

Enough can’t be said about this topic. Simply put, everyone needs to be honest in their business dealings with one another. I feel that this is a foundation in a truly successful business. If a member is cutting corners to try to get the job done, it will come out in the end. Just a quick example. If a bid (quote) is submitted by a vendor for a repair on the REO property, don’t change the amount when submitting it to the asset company. I have known of this to happen and the person did think they were getting away with it. And since it was just a small amount in the beginning, it was not discovered. So the person felt safe and increased their bid amounts. But when the asset company discovered this, all monies had to be refunded for all of the bids. And of course that agent lost their business with that asset company. A hard but powerful lesson.

I hope these few tips: Experience, Education and Integrity can help you in your search for a successful REO Team.

To your business success!

Roxanne

I'm sure that I'm not alone in my thoughts and that this is going on in more places than just SW Florida but it bothers me more and more. What is it? The REO agent's that just don't seem to do their assets justice.

I pride myself in my work. I treat REO listings the same as a traditional listing. They get equal attention (most of the time more). They get the same amount of advertising, the MLS description is written to SELL the property and I always have a multitude of pictures of the property. Signs are placed on the property immediately and someone is always available to answer questions about the property.

On the other hand, I see BIG REO agents in my area that just don't appear to be putting any pride into their work. You have agents that put only one photo of the property into the MLS.....and that pic?....it came directly from the tax assessor's website, so they didn't even bother to go out and take a photo themselves. There is one agent in the area that takes a picture of the inside of the toilet bowl and puts it in every one of his listings. And oh, some of the MLS descriptions! "Bank Owned Property" .....that took a lot of thought!

We all know how difficult it is to break into the REO business. It is very aggravating to know that I would do the best possible job for these companies if I had their listings yet I see these other agents that just don't seem to appreciate what they have.

Thought I'd put this question out there because in the past 6 months, I have shown at least 3 houses that I believe were Meth Labs. None of these homes were my listings and in bringing the topic up to the listing agents, I got a reaction like "okay thanks for telling me" and I had the feeling that these agents did not have a clue as to: 1. The fact that a "meth lab" can be located in any neighborhood, within any class and income level; 2. What the signs and symptoms were 3. The possible serious effects of being exposed to a past or present Meth Lab;

5 Signs Your Listing May Have Once Been a Meth Lab

http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2009/07/16/5-signs-your-listing-may-have-once-been-a-meth-lab/

Are you living in a former meth lab?

http://methnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-you-living-in-former-meth-lab.html

This is a gray area as far as disclosure, because an agent may have no clue they are even showing a current or former Meth Lab and as you have heard recently, there are horror stories of buyers purchasing homes which have been used as Meth Labs that have caused them to become sick; Some have even had to "walk away" from their house because of the sometimes very expensive remedies for correcting a house with traces of meth throughout. Before you say, "how could an agent not know they are showing a Meth Lab", read the following fact:

Meth Labs can be setup in a small space such as a closet, a box, garage and any small area of a house; How many of us have showed our buyers a house that has that one locked room where the Sellers say they have valuables or "weapons" and will not allow access; As an agent, I have gotten into the habit of scanning a room before I enter it and also reading the body language of Sellers. That is why on a recent showing, when me and the buyers were about to enter a home where Sellers were present, the first thing I noticed was a "pantry" near the entrance to the kitchen that had 3 hinges on each side of the door with a pad lock on each hinge; VERY STRANGE; My antennae went up that they this was possibly a Meth Lab based on the fact that the husband made sure we did not get anywhere near this "pantry"; The husband had physical symptoms: rotted teeth, an emaciated appearance, and a sunken face, however, these could be symptoms of some other illnesses or problems, so I don't solely rely on a person's looks; The convincing point came when me and the buyer walked a few steps into the kitchen and the smell of rotten eggs and ammonia overwhelmed both of us; In addition, our eyes starting burning; I quickly asked my buyer to come outside with me and on the way out noticed the blue discoloration around the fire extinguishers; I explained to her that I believed the home had dangerous fumes that I did not want her or myself to be exposed to and kindly informed the Sellers we were leaving; As I am not a "Meth Expert" and only rely on information and previous experiences to determine whether a house was or currently is a Meth Lab, I did not pass this opinion onto the Buyer or Seller.

A question I pose to other agents on this forum is: Have you been in this situation and would you disclose to a potential buyer or seller that you believe a property is a "Meth Lab"? I'd love your feedback.

BPO MILLS, ARE VALUABLE TO THE REO AGENT/BOKER?

More often then not, I hear agents and brokers say that BPO mills are a waste of time because they don’t lead to listings. I, at one time felt the very same way. However as my business has flourished and Reo Listings are more abundant for me than they were a few years ago when I was breaking into this business, my views have changed.

BPO mills are extremely valuable to my operation and will continue to be a intricate part of the success of my business. They are valuable because they provide a training ground for agents within in my team, and those looking to be added to my team. The agents also get paid for the training.(For Example 50 drive by, my agents get 40 if the bpo is turned in on time and not rejected, for each rejection 5 bucks is taken off.) As the experienced REO Broker will tell you, as well as any Asset manager, REO begins and ends with a Good BPO. As REO agents, and Brokers, we are as strong as our weakest link. Your link starts with the BPO, therefore the more agents on your team that can do quality BPO’s, the better off you are for taking your business to the next level.

BPO mills are great because the have their own built in quality control and QA. What better training could one provide for agents looking to join their REO team? Further more this also allows you to determine when your team member or agent is ready to complete BPO’s related to listings.

My concept is simple, get your BPO’s done ahead of time, and on time at the very least, without rejections and your on your way to being added to my team of REO agents. Well, it not as easy as that. I require my agents to complete a min number of BPO’s per month from BPO mills. This allows me to continuously monitor and evaluate agents on my team. It also gives the ability to assign co-listing agents to those that have proven themselves worthy, just as all of us have as REO agents.

The more agents on your team you have trained, the better off you will be to effectively handle the massive volume that many of us will see. So, the next time you get that email from a bpo mill, consider accepting it to train another. After all, like I said earlier, your as strong as your weakest link. How many REO’s can one persons effectively handle, vs. a team of trained agents? I’m ready for the volume and to take on more. Are you ready?

Very Truly Yours

Jonathan Burgess

Code 3 Real Estate CEO