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Someone ones told me that numbers don't lie, but they can be manipulated. Here is an example, I just read an article titled "Foreclosure Sales Decline Second Straight Month" that makes it sound like it was good news for our market and our economy. I really believe that the numbers are right, but they are not telling an accurate story.

The reason foreclosure sales are down is because the active inventory of REO properties is down due to the robo signing and other factors. I can see that in the past 12 months 90% of the REO transactions have title delays. I guess after the freeze of last year, now title companies have decided to do their job and there have been several delays, up to 7 months for titles to be clear and settlements taking place.

At least in my market in Maryland, the REO inventory has shrunk from last year, I know some brokers have downsized their staff and are now pursuing other venues of revenue like short sales and multi-level network marketing ventures.

But lets face reality the amount of foreclosure files has increase by 1% according to the same article. When I drive around I can see several empty and unkept homes that I know by experience they have been foreclose or they are in the process. I know several "home owners" who still live in their foreclose home after almost a year of the auction date, because the banks are waiting on the courts for the foreclosure ratification, etc.

Lets face it loan modifactions and the lack of control on short sales is not stopping the foreclosure train, it is barely slowing it down. It is a sad thing, but I think there is foreclosure inventory for a long time.

Back in May of 2008, when I started the networking site www.REOPro.NING.com aka REOPro, one of
the very first request we received from our membership was for a listing
database. As much as I wanted to fulfill this request, I realized it was going
to be expensive, time consuming and overwhelming so, it wasn’t something I
could do right away. None the less, it’s always been a dream to make a listing
HUB for our members and the general public but, I knew if I was going to do
that, it had to be different, it had to be something special.

As you can imagine, listing sites aren’t really sexy cool
so, how do you make a listing site something people will use, better yet, will
want to use. I started becoming joining all of the popular listings sites, who
will go nameless however, to make my point, at one time, I was a member of
about 11 different advertising / lead generation sites. In fact, some sites I
blogged about because they were so bad. I joined all these sites to get an idea
of my competition, to learn, listen and ingest the ins and outs so I could
figure out what worked and what didn’t. Sadly enough, most everything I
witnessed was working but, not for the agent. Ultimately, this pissed me off
because, I am an agent myself.

After a year learning how these sites worked, after a year
blogging and getting incredible feedback, after a year reading the blogs of our
9,258 members on REOPro, I realized something, I can do this better. I knew
beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I had the resources, I could give our
members a listing database that worked for them. Some of what I learned was....

1. 
   Agents do not like paying large upfront fees.

Our industry is saturated with fly by night operations or
companies that are in the business for one thing and, that is to make money off
the upfront fee. It’s true, I had a CEO of one of my competitors actually call
me and tell me that the largest income stream they have is the fee and not the
referral. Agents are wising up to this business approach and are refusing to
pay upfront fees. The reality is, some upfront fees will have to be paid, the
cost of maintaining a large listing site can’t be offset entirely by referral
fees however, the fees that some of my competitors are charging is highway
robbery. After dissecting these business models, I realized one true simple
fact and, that is it can be done for a lot less, upfront. In fact, for just
property advertising, that could be done for free.

BankOwnedHomeListings.com does have some upfront fees
however, they are less than what you and your spouse or significant other would
pay for a dinner out every month. We also have different plans for different
budgets so, you can choose what is right for you.

1. 
   Reduce the cost to the agent to $0.00

With this realization, I knew I was going to make a few of
my competitors very upset and, that’s a good thing. I want to reduce the cost
to the agent to 0.00 upfront fees. Now, let’s be honest, this sounds like a
insurmountable task but, with a little creativity, it’s truly possible. For
instance, take the most expensive plan we have, the $20.00 a month plan and
multiply that by 12 months, you end up with an annual fee of $240.00 paid out
monthly with no contract, you can cancel at any time. For many agents, in this
economy, $240.00 is not something they can just dish out so, here is what I did.
When you have your first closing on one of our leads, we will refund you back
your annual subscription. So the cost to join our network was essentially
nothing more than your referral fee and you only had to pay that out when you
closed a transaction. Of course, we can only offer this option on qualifying properties,
that is, properties that are sold for enough to cover your annual subscription
fee. For example, hypothetically speaking….

3 Months in, you close your first deal, it was a $100,000.00
property with a 3% commission. That means you make a commission of $3,000.00,
the referral fee on the $20.00 a month plan is 20%, so you pay
BankOwnedHomeListings.com $600.00. We will then refund you 1 year subscription;
we end up cutting you a check for $240.00. In essence, it only cost you $360.00
instead of $840.00. SWEET! Now on properties where we don’t make at least
$240.00…….we obviously can’t activate the refund but, don’t worry, if you don’t
make it on the first deal, we can activate the refund policy on whatever your
first qualifying deal is.

1. 
   Advertising should be free.

The monthly fee is a choice that you don’t have to choose.
If you want to come on, upload your listings and advertise them with us, that
is completely free. Why would you want to do that….well, allow me to explain.

With my experience in the blogosphere and developing REOPro,
I have learned a lot about SEO Optimization or Search Engine Optimization. The
easiest way to explain SEO is to tell you that it’s just the science behind how
to get a website to the top of the search engine list. Now, to understand how
BankOwnedHomeListings.com is going to be so effective with SEO, you need to
know that most organic searches, or searches by ordinary people typing in
ordinary words in the search engine is driven by something called Keywords.
These Keywords are the words that people most commonly type in the search
engine to find a specific topic. This is extremely important because, the more
keywords….or better yet, the most popular keywords, you can use in your web
address, the more likely you will appear at the top of the results page when
John Doe looks for business within an industry segment. I know I have gotten
really technical but, I had no choice.

Think of it this way, when John Doe Home Buyer is at his
computer and he wants to find foreclosed homes, what are the top 5 keywords he
would use to search? Well, we can find that information out by looking at the
keyword statistics that are released by the search engines so, they aren’t hard
to find. For the default real estate industry, amongst the top three search
engines, the keywords that regularly show up are, “Bank Owned”, “Bank Owned
Homes”, “Bank Owned Properties”, “Bank Owned Listings”. Now granted, these
keywords don’t show up all the time and they don’t always take up the top five
slots but, you need to remember, keyword searches are organic, they change
based on an incredible amount of factors. It’s just not possible for anyone to
accurately and precisely obtain a 100% keyword for any one industry however,
you can get very close to that 100% by combining as many of those keywords as
possible in your URL. The biggest problem is, many times keyword combinations aren’t
memorable or if you put them together, they don’t make any sense however, we
are very fortunate that with our URL, www.BankOwnedHomeListings.com,
we combine 4-6 of the top 5 keywords searched for our industry, on average.

I say all that to drive home my point that our URL provides
our agents with a highly effective, FREE, advertising solution for their properties
that you can’t get with many pay advertising sites.

www.BankOwnedHomeListings.com
is going to turn this industry on it’s head and I am so grateful that you and I
are partnering together to make that happen so, stop by, sign up and let’s
revolutionize this industry to the benefit of the Agent.

I don't know what happened I signed up paid 363. plus 39.99 per mo for a zip code.  I did receive quite a few contacts but none of them turned into a pay off. 

Next thing I knew I had paid over 1000 in just at 3 months for this service.

Maybe I didn't read the fine print as I am told a refund if you cancel may or may not happen even if you are paid 3 months in advance.  I thought it would be 39.99 per mo there after.

So basically I am out 1085 for nothing in 3 months. 

Has anyone else received something good from this site.

I canceled and they said If I had canced 2 days before I would have received my 363.00 for the next 3 months, Due June 6th  The site says cancel anytime. 

I will never order another thing from any of these companies. 

Credit reports frequently have mistakes. Very often consumers are not aware of these mistakes until they are trying to obtain credit for a large purchase like a home or car.  There is a process for rectifying credit mistakes, but it can take some time.

As more and more short sales are being processed it is only natural that some mistakes are showing up on credit reports, especially since there is no standard way for a credit report to reflect a short sale. The bank may report loan paid as agreed, or loan paid for less than the full amount. Which ever way it is reported it should not say foreclosure. Unfortunately occasionally this will happen, but the fix is easy.  When you sell a home as a short sale you will receive a HUD1 statement. this is a statement that spells out what money came in from the sale and how it was distributed. If a home is foreclosed there is no HUD1 given to the owner.  So, if you have a HUD1 your home was not foreclosed.  You should send the HUD1 to the credit reporting agency along with the statement that since you have a HUD1 you were not foreclosed on. They can then remove the foreclosure from your credit report. 

It is probably a good idea to check your credit report 6 and 12 months after a short sale just to make sure this has not happened.

If you have nay questions about short sales please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer CDPE

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

I like to watch the HBO show True Blood, in that show vampires are open in our society and they have human friends or lovers or companions who protect them when they are asleep and provide blood for them, those humans are called fang bangers 

It seems that so many companies out there now have conferences, special memberships for REO agents, REO colleges or programs that would make you a powerhouse, etc. 

I was very surprise that with less active inventory, increase amount of agents trying to break into the REO industry and still lenders being very conservative with their loans, some companies that were closed to agents in the recent past are not opening for new membership. I keep getting emails from new AM or REO clubs, programs, education etc. promising to help me get to the top of REO and become the next power REO agent on the planet.

I am sure some agents will fall for that and will pay to "play, learn or network" I used to do the same, when I started in the REO industry I wanted to learn from the experts, I paid for classes from someone who didn't know much about REO, but knew how to hype and sell their crappy education. I paid some AM who after a while disappeared and I loss some money, I paid to go to conferences with thousands of agents to learn more in overcrowded classrooms or to hear some AM about their procedures,etc. Actually I met some great agents and some clients at those conferences, but not at the classes.

At the last conference that I attended I saw agents paying $500 to go party with "asset managers" I wonder if it is worth to do an investigation if those "asset managers" were getting a kick back from the party organizers, or if in fact they are asset managers at all. 

I see too many REO "Vampires" out there, they need their fresh blood to live and there are so many REO fang bangers out there giving it to them. We have to be careful and do our research, that is one of the beauties of this forum, we can come here and learn about new companies, new programs, share our experiences, etc. 

Unfortunately lately we haven't seen many of that going on, except for few regulars, then it has become a place to repost Activerain blogs, to advertise agents and products, etc.

There are legit products and legit education companies, we have to learn which designations are the ones that most reputable, which designations will help us to open doors, I know at the end is up to us how we develop and do business, but we need to help each other to save money, time and effort,. that is the garlic that keeps the Vampires away.

Marketing to distressed homeowners can be challenging. Many of these homeowners are on an emotional roller coaster of shame, embarrassment and panic.

How can you get through to these financially troubled borrowers? We've put together a complimentary ebook that can serve as a springboard of marketing ideas on how to get your message of hope and solutions out to homeowners that are falling behind on their mortgage payment. This is full of tips and insight into what works - and what doesn't work when reaching out to distressed homeowners, 

You can download this resource at www.preforeclosuredata.net/PreForeclosureMarketingEbook.pdf.  

To learn exactly how many homeowners are late in your area, you can enter your criteria by filling out a quick form and we can tell you, by zip code, how many homeowners are past due. 

It's time again. Curious about how many distressed properties there really are in Menlo Park?  Despite what you may be reading these are the homes for sale or sold on MLS asShort Sales or Bank Owned.

Sold: 

Short Sales: Single Family Homes  8

Short Sales: Townhome or condo:  1

Bank Owned: Single Family Homes  6

Bank Owned Townhomes or Condos  0

Active:

Short Sales:  Single Family Homes  3

Short Sales Townhomes or condos   1

Bank Owned Single Family Homes   3

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo    0

Pending Sales:

Short Sales: Single family homes  20

Short Sales: Townhomes or condos 0

Bank Owned  Single Family Home  2

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo   0

As you can see the number of distressed properties for sale is continues to be extremely low. This small number of short sales and reos are not enough to have a major impact on the market as they do in many other markets. Most of the distressed properties are in the Belle Haven Neighborhood, but there are a number of pending short sales west of 101.

If you have any questions about short sales or bank owned properties please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

It's time again. Curious about how many distressed properties there really are in Menlo Park?  Despite what you may be reading these are the homes for sale or sold on MLS asShort Sales or Bank Owned.

Sold: 

Short Sales: Single Family Homes  8

Short Sales: Townhome or condo:  1

Bank Owned: Single Family Homes  6

Bank Owned Townhomes or Condos  0

Active:

Short Sales:  Single Family Homes  3

Short Sales Townhomes or condos   1

Bank Owned Single Family Homes   3

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo    0

Pending Sales:

Short Sales: Single family homes  20

Short Sales: Townhomes or condos 0

Bank Owned  Single Family Home  2

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo   0

As you can see the number of distressed properties for sale is continues to be extremely low. This small number of short sales and reos are not enough to have a major impact on the market as they do in many other markets. Most of the distressed properties are in the Belle Haven Neighborhood, but there are a number of pending short sales west of 101.

If you have any questions about short sales or bank owned properties please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

Right now it is estimated that nationally 1 in 4 homeowners owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. You may be be one of those homeowners.  While not everyone who owes more money than their home is worth is going to sell that home, if they do, it will have to go through the short sale process. If you decide that a short sale is the best option for your circumstances be sure and check with a lawyer and/or accountant to get the best legal and tax advice.  You may find yourself unable to make the payments on the mortgage at all. If you own a condo the situation can get a little more complicated.  

In California the HOA can initiate foreclosure proceedings against a homeowner who does not pay his/her HOA dues.  In addition to that, many banks who are very willing to allow a borrower to do a short sale will not pay any money for back due HOA dues.  

So, if you can not afford your home, if you can not afford your mortgage, if you want to try a short sale, try to find a way to pay the HOA dues. If you do not, you could get to the end of the short sale process and not be able to close because a few thousand dollars are owned to the HOA and since that is a lien against the property the sale will not close.

If you have any questions about short sales, please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E.  01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

It's time again. Curious about how many distressed properties there really are in Palo Alto?  Despite what you may be reading these are the homes for sale or sold on MLS as Short Sales or Bank Owned.

Sold: 

Short Sales: Single Family Homes  3

Short Sales: Townhome or condo:  2

Bank Owned: Single Family Homes  2

Bank Owned Townhomes or Condos  4

Active:

Short Sales:  Single Family Homes  1

Short Sales Townhomes or condos   1

Bank Owned Single Family Homes   0

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo    1

Pending Sales:

Short Sales: Single family homes  2

Short Sales: Townhomes or condos 1

Bank Owned  Single Family Home  0

Bank Owned Townhome or Condo   1

As you can see the number of distressed properties for sale is continues to be extremely low. This small number of short sales and reos are not enough to have a major impact on the market as they do in many other markets.

If you have any questions about short sales or bank owned properties please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

Federal Government Disclaimer (MARS): 1. You may stop doing business with us at any time. You may accept or reject the offer of mortgage assistance we obtain from your lender [or servicer]. If you reject the offer, you do not have to pay us. If you accept the offer, you will have to pay us commission as agreed to in listing contract for our services.
2. Marcy Moyer of Keller Williams Realty is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender; and 
3. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.

I wanted to share with you these sites I found (read about) that could come in handy when building your website or brand.

www.compete.com- This allows you to check how your site stacks up against your opposition.  This gives you the ability to compare your site and gives you statistics such as; unique visitors, top search terms and referring sites.

When creating your website, back-links help your ranking with Google. An easy way to check which sites your web-site, or your competitions web-site, is linked to is by going to Yahoo. In the search bar type site:url.com (url stands for the web address, for instance, site:nicksbusinessjournal.com). Click on the tab at the top left that says Inlinks. This shows you all of the sites that are linked up (back-linked) with the site you are searching. The more quality back-links that are linked to your site, the better chances you have at a higher page ranking on Google. If you are checking your competition, this information is helpful because you may be able to contact the web-sites that are linked to them and get them to link to your site as well.

Of course we all know that apps are a big deal now. You have without a doubt heard the phrase, “there’s an app for that.” Now you can create a free app for your business by going to www.appmakr.com. This is a plug and play web-site that walks you through a step by step process of creating your app and getting in published. Of course it has its limitations (it is free) but it could be a great way to help build your brand. If you are creating you app for IPhone, you will need an Apple Developers account, which will cost you $99/yr.

And of course, when building your site, you want to be able to track statistics such as traffic, bounce rate, content overview, etc. A good tool for this is by using Google Analytics, www.google.com/analytics/

This year I have been completing numerous BPO's for homes in my area. BPO is an acronym for Broker Price Opinion.  Broker price opinions are a valuation service that real estate brokers can offer to banks.  Performing these BPO's has only strengthened my ability to properly assess how much a property/home is worth in today's market conditions.  Completing BPO's in local cities like Janesville, Milton, Beloit, Evansville, Elkorn and Madison has given me a unique view into the intricacies related to each market.  I also have a better understanding of how the banks determine their home values when it comes to short sales, pre-foreclosure decisions and REO properties.  The article below explains in greater detail what a broker price opinion is.

Regards,
Michael Collins - Broker
Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource

What is a Broker Price Opinion?

When a bank or asset manager obtains a new foreclosed listing to sell, they immediately need to know the home's value. Typically a bank will assign one to three agents to evaluate the approximate selling value of a home. These banks expect each agent to submit three comparable sold listings and three comparable active listings as well as an estimate of what the agent thinks the home will sell for.

A Broker Price Opinion is not as detailed as an appraisal and does not entail as much work. BPOs differ from Appraisals in a number of ways:

• Appraisals typically cost over $300. Most BPOs pay brokers between $50 and $100.
• Appraisals require detailed square footage measurements. BPOs rely on county assessors' recorded measurements.
• Appraisals use a standard format recognized and used by lenders and mortgage professionals for precise property valuations. BPO's are prepared in different formats and are used simply as decision making tools for asset managers of each bank.
• Appraisals are typically 15-20 pages long with detailed information on each aspect of a property. BPO's are usually 2 pages long with information pertaining only to a final selling price.

Why Do Banks need Broker Price Opinions?

Asset managers and bank personnel make decisions on several properties every day. Reading through a lengthy 20 page appraisal and filtering out the critical information is a waste of their time. These asset managers need concise, financial documents that make their choices easier. That's why BPOs are so critical to their job. In addition, a BPO saves the bank over $200 per property compared with a standard appraisal. That money adds up quickly and saves the bank thousands and thousands of dollars a year.

Another reason BPOs are preferred by banks is that the turnaround time is much quicker than appraisals. BPOs can usually be performed by agents in under 48 hours. Many appraisers visit the property within 48 hours, but then require another day or two to process the information and create the full report.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1844386
Author: Brian Anthony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 28, 2011 – Michael Collins Completes Prestigious RSD Designation to Specialize in Bank Owned Homes



April 1, 2011 Michael Collins, Broker of Rock Realty in Janesville, has earned the prestigious Harris Real Estate University Certified Real Estate Owned Specialist Designation (RSD), having completed extensive training in the techniques necessary to secure, negotiate and sell Bank Owned Properties (REOs). This REO training is invaluable during the current recession, especially in housing markets where foreclosure rates continue to climb.

A property becomes an REO if the original owner fails to pay their mortgage and the lending bank is forced to repossess it. The bank then reaches out to qualified REO designated brokers and agents to sell the home and recover their investment. Without access to experienced REO Listing agents, lending authorities must continue to hold onto the foreclosed property as an investment loss.

“The Harris Real Estate University RSD designation has been invaluable as I work with banks and lenders on complicated BPO & REO assignments. In Janesville Wisconsin, an increasing number of homes are in some stage of foreclosure. And it is happening with homes of every price range,” said Michael Collins, “It is so rewarding to be able to help banks rehabilitate these homes, get them back on the market, and find eager homebuyers so we can improve the condition of our neighborhoods. My RSD training through HREU has enabled me to work with more lenders, move more properties and get some of these vacant homes sold!”

Tim and Julie Harris, founders of the Harris Real Estate University in Las Vegas, NV, said “Realtors such as Michael Collins with the HREU RSD designation have valuable training in REO properties and can help banks find qualified buyers using our extensive techniques. Through our in-depth training and continuous education programs, these agents better understand market conditions that will help lenders appraise their properties through a BPO and eventually sell their REO inventory.”

The Harris Real Estate University opened in 1998 and provides REO agent training through webinars, teleseminars and teleconferencing. Agents can earn their HREU REO Listing Designation remotely from their offices all across the nation. The RSD is the premier designation for Realtors who develop an expertise in Bank Owned properties.

“Our goal is to prepare our enrolled agents for the increasingly competitive REO market. It’s becoming more difficult for uncertified agents to out-sell our graduates. Our comprehensive RSD Designation gives them everything they need to gain an edge over other agents in their communities,” Harris said.

If you feel you are in need of more information about REO properties, or if you are a lender looking for a certified Bank Owned Property Realtor, call Rock Realty for more information at 608-921-8536. We also offer in depth BPO (Broker Price Opinion) services.

Specializing in the sale of REO homes and commercial properties in the Madison, Beloit, Evansville & Janesville areas, Rock Realty lists homes for sale in Dane and Rock County. Contact Michael Collins at 608-921-8536 for more information, or visit www.rockrealtywi.com

Original Blog

Wisconsin Short Sales
Madison Wisconsin Short Sale Realtor®
Janesville Wisconsin Short Sale Realtor®
Beloit Wisconsin Short Sale Realtor®

I was shocked, stunned and thrilled when I received a check in the mail for every BPO that I have done for BPO Valuation - BPOonline.  Plus a letter of apology along with information that they are on a new system that will pay agents within 30 to 45 days.

Even though it has been almost a year since these BPOs were done and after I finally had given up on ever getting paid even though I contacted them several times, it was nice to see this company step up to the plate and make things right.  Will I ever do business with them again - honestly, I don't know, with the price of gas, BPOs are no longer cost effective for me to do and as they say - Once bitten - twice shy!

BPO Automation Group Now Able to Automate: AMN Forms

Top Questions About AMN Forms to BPO Automation Group Sales Manager, Steve:

1. Are you able to automate AMN forms?

Yes, we do! So, even if you purchased AMN forms they don't offer a way to automate filling in their online based forms, but we do through our AutoFill software called BPO Automation Suite Pro. Within our automation of AMN Forms you will be able to save at least half the amount of time it takes you now to fill in their forms. It will fill in most of your comp data and subject data (if it was listed in your MLS as recently sold or active/pending/sti, etc.) as well as fill in default information that we designed to be used as a template.

2. Is this an alternative to MultiForm?

"Yes, our product is an alternative to MultiForm." (Source: http://www.amnforms.com/FAQs.php#faq_more)

3.  Is AMN Forms compatible with Fannie Mae's AMN system?

"Yes, we have specifically designed our product to easily produce the exact forms used by Fannie Mae.

Additionally, the BPO file type is compatible with Fannie Mae's AMN System." 

(Source: http://www.amnforms.com/FAQs.php#faq_more)

4. Can AMN Forms Automate MLS Comp and Subject Data Link BPO Automation's Fannie Mae Add-On?

No (Source: Independent Research by Nicole Ocean and BPO University)

5. What forms do you have for me to generate?

"We offer just about every standard Fannie Mae form that you use in your everyday business. Below is a list of them: Broker Price Opinion, 2-4 Unit Broker Price Opinion, Broker Scope of Repairs, Contract Amendment, Contract Cover Form, Incident Report, Knowing Your Options English and Spanish, Lead Paint Disclosure, Real Estate Purchase Addendum Ltr and Legal, Relocation Assistance Agreement normal and for CT, Release of Claims regular and for CT, Receipt for CT, Summary of Repair Bids, Warning Sign, Termination Notice, Summary Repair Bid for SAM vendors and the NEW owner occupancy certification." (Source: http://www.amnforms.com/FAQs.php#faq_more)

6. What is the price for AMN Forms?

"It is $9.99/month or $99.00/year."

7. What is the price for your BPO Automation Suite Pro?

"It is $597.00 as a one-time fee. All of our competitors charge a monthly fee, we offer our highly regarded software as an investment.

8. Do you have any installment plans available?

"We do, give our sales manager a call to learn more! Reach him at: 360-223-2482 ext 1.

Release: BPO Automation Group or BPO University is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of the above products or retailers. trademarks, service marks, logos, and/or domain names (including, without limitation, the individual names of products and retailers) are the property of their respective owners.

Give me a call or shoot me an email for more info!

Warmly,

Nicole Ocean

Founder of BPO Automation Group

360-223-2482 ext 2

nicole@bpo-automation.com

Below Is part of an email I received this week I am wondering if anyone here on REO PRO has had a track record with this program with other outsourcers that may have tried this before. If you have ran into this already how easy was the conversion any problems to look out for?

One or more of the properties assigned to you has/have been selected for Fannie Mae's Utility Management Pilot. As part of the pilot, Fannie Mae has authorized a third party vendor to take over the management and payment of electric utilities on selected properties. 

Please read the linked FAQs and make a note of the properties listed below which have been selected for the pilot. A utility management company will contact your AMP within a week to request utility documentation. We ask that you work with your AMP to ensure they have the most up to date utility bill. Please Note: If you also work with Fannie Mae directly, it is important that you submit 571 reimbursements on AMP properties to your AMP rather than to Fannie Mae. 

Pilot Details

This pilot only affects the electric bills on the list of properties shown below unless the property has joint utility billing. If the property receives one bill for multiple utilities, then those properties will also be included in the Utility Management Pilot. All other bills and properties remain unchanged and you are required to continue to pay them as outlined in the Fannie Mae REO Sales Guide. If you have any assigned properties that are not selected for this pilot, it is your responsibility to continue to pay the electric bills of those properties. In addition, there are no changes to how you submit for reimbursement. Continue to submit to your AMP for reimbursement for all bills which you have paid.

The electric bills for the properties below will be transferred to a third party vendor and will no longer be sent to you. In order to facilitate a smooth transfer, you must activate service. If you do not activate service, the transfer cannot take place. Once the transfer takes place, a representative from the third party vendor will notify you and your AMP of the exact date service is transferred.

Important

If you have not recently submitted an electric bill to your AMP for reimbursement, one of our third party vendors may contact you for a current copy of the bill. The third party vendor will provide you with a Letter of Authorization from Fannie Mae allowing them to procure utilities on our behalf. We ask that you cooperate and promptly provide the assigned vendor with a copy of the most recent electric bill for the property requested. 

Please be mindful of the following points during the utility transfer to the third party vendor (utility management company).

• Do not turn off the electricity on the selected properties. If electricity is activated, we are simply moving the billing to the utility management company. 
• If any of the properties selected are occupied by a tenant, immediately notify your AMP so the property can be removed from the pilot.
• The Utility Management Pilot is for electric bills only. However, if any of the properties selected have the electricity and gas combined under one utility company, the utility management company will still work to transfer billing of both services on these properties only.
• If any of the properties selected do not have electricity turned on due to safety issues or concerns, immediately notify your AMP so the properties can be removed from the pilot.
• If any of the properties selected are scheduled for closing in the next two weeks, and they have not transferred to the utility management company, please notify your AMP so the properties can be removed from the pilot.
• After the transfer has occurred, the utility management company will contact you with the details of the effective transfer date, and let you know to expect a final bill. At that time, please pay that final bill, and submit it to your AMP for processing.

Thank you for your assistance with this initiative

I have received several emails and contacts from agents asking about a newly formed group that is soliciting memberships by the name of US REO.  They are asking for over $2000 annual in dues to "join their membership".  Their benefits are nicely laid out on their web site and there is nothing there that I can see that is worth 10% of their $175.00 per month dues.  I can find most of what they offer for much less or free for that matter.  We network with other REO Pros right here so why would you want to pay them for this service?  It seems like every one of these "member only" groups has a claim somewhere that would make you think that they can expose you to vendors and lenders to get REO Listings so let me ask you this, WHO HAVE YOU PAID TO GET LISTINGS?  I have been listing and selling REO's for over 20 years and have never once gotten a listing from a pay to play or "platinum" upgrade from any platform.  I get them the old fashioned way.  I send out resumes and signe up for BPO & REO sights each and every month, month after month, year after year, and work my way up the food chain.  I have two successful REO Branches and even in this slow time I am still listing and selling multiple REO's every month. 

BUYER BEWARE....If someone wants you to pay an annual fee, monthly dues, or upgarde fee only do this when they can guarantee you work. I bet not one of them will make this guarantee. I know I have been there and done that and all I got was less money in my bank account. Getting listed on some directory on someones web site is NOT going to get you business.  Good old prospecting will.