Several banks here in Ga. have recently been taken over by the FDIC. Unfortunately, one was a previous client with whom I had good relations and had received listings. Guess it wasn't enough - anyway, since FDIC sells the assets not in foreclosure and the reo stays in their portfolio, I am having a devil of a time running down who has what now. Does anybody out there have good information on FDIC holdings? I could use at least a company name here or any thing you have. I'm in the middle Georgia region if that makes a difference.
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If there's one thing that most of us can agree upon is that as reo agents, we see the best and worst that our great nation has to offer. On any given day, we will be assigned a property whose occupants are in the middle of some of the most heart-wrenching circumstances one can imagine. On that same day, we can also see the worst that society has to offer with obvious loan fraud, property theft and worse. Later that afternoon, we might run into a large and very unhappy dog left behind IN the house....Sometimes the stories we are a part of are hysterical too-A charming ranch-style home in a quiet suburban neighborhood where the living and master bedroom have brand new LEOPARD-SKIN print carpeting or a property formerly occupied by a large male who forgot his Cher wig and evening gown collection.....I love this job because no matter what, everyday is different from the last.I love this job because I get to see ordinary people buy their first homes when only a couple of years ago, they were resigned to being excluded from the great American dream of owning a home.Without question, I have never worked harder but at least for now I have a job where I can earn a good living that doesn't require me to say something like "Welcome to Wal-Mart" or "Would like fries with that?"I've learned more about determining the present value of a property and could move just about anywhere and earn a living as a Realtor because my job has required me to know the fundamentals of marketing and selling a home in just about every neighborhood that there is.That is the best kind of job security.My favorite story so far is helping a family buy their first home in California after coming here from Mexico in 1994, and being able to live close enough to their oldest daughters college so they could also afford for her to attend.The husband is a cement worker and the wife is a housekeeper, neither of which are positions noted for their high incomes. Despite this, in todays market they were able to buy a 4bd/2ba home for 150K in an area that would have cost over 400K in 2006. Was my commission very much? No, it wasn't even close to what I make on some of the nicer homes I am assigned. It was however, my most rewarding sale.What about all of you? Or is everyone else so cynical that it's only about the money?
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Foreclosure starts are continuing to rise to record highs but total delinquencies fell in March to 7.88%, a month-over-month decrease of 5.8%, according to the April 2009 LPS Mortgage Monitor from Lender Processing Services, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. The seasonal February to March decline in delinquencies in the five years from 2002 to 2007 averaged 14%, and the number of newly delinquent loans saw a greater decline in March compared to 2008. March's foreclosure rate was 2.52%, reflecting a month-over-month increase of 12.8% and a year-over-year increase of 87.8%. The percentage of loans improving in status continued to increase in March, while loans deteriorating in status declined. The report said foreclosure starts in March hit new all-time highs across every major product category. The largest 12-month increase was seen in jumbo loans at 221%, non-agency conforming loans at 158%, and agency prime loans at 144%. Foreclosure starts on portfolio loans spiked significantly during the month, the company said. GMNA was the only investor category to remain stable for the month. LPS said foreclosure sales dropped significantly in March, due in large part to the reinstatement of the FHFA moratorium in February and continuing through the end of March. The report said refinance activity remains high, with a slight increase in available liquidity to borrowers who are 30-days delinquent.
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Warren Buffett called them “weapons of mass destruction” in 2003.President Bush said they had to be regulated.So did the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the current head of the Federal reserve.As did the G-20 group of the world's 20 richest nations.Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan - after being one of their biggest cheerleaders - now says they are dangerous.And a Nobel prize-winning economist said they should be “blown up or burned”, and we should start fresh.What Are They Talking About?What are the above-listed folks talking about?A financial instrument called “credit default swaps” (CDS for short).CDS are like an insurance contract, where the purchaser buys "insurance" that a company won't go out of business from a seller. If the company stays in business, the purchaser pays premiums to the seller, but if the company goes belly up, the seller has to pay the face value of the CDS "policy".Why are CDS so dangerous?For the rest of the article go to: Cause Of Economic CrisisRead more…
If you are going to be using Craigslist, which I do like BTW, be very careful if your property is vacant. I had posted an earlier comment regarding people running a con game where they rent empty homes to unsuspecting consumers.It is very rampant on Craigslist...where I have heard any mention of foreclosure, REO, bank owned, etc...you could have a duplicate post "for rent" on the same property withing a short time. As an agent who uses Craigslist...I recommend running searches of your posts and addresses periodically to make sure you don't fall victim.http://blog.foreclosure.com/2009/02/foreclosure-rent-scam-uncovered-in-affluent-dallas-suburb/Read more…
Having completed Default School and earning the RDCPro designation, I thought I would share my experience with you all. On the topic of certifications, designations and education, I am of mixed mind. You may ask...Why? And the answer is simply because some of these programs are too much 'fluff,' just trying to suck a quick couple hundred dollars out of Realtors and thin on material. Some on the other hand are put together by honorable people, truly trying to offer value and improve their industry. You never really know for sure until you take the course(s).I am all for continuing your education throughout your career, but I am also leary of some programs and try to research them before jumping on board. Everything I could find about RDCPro and Default School pointed toward it being a good designation and the required courses being valuable, so I went for it.After completing it, I felt that the courses required for the RDCPro designation (taken through Default School and administered by RealEstateEducate.com) were both very legitimate courses. Almost everything in it was, in my opinion, quality material and meaningful. The designation requires the completion of 2 courses: REO Best Practices (formerly Learning the REO Ropes) and Advanced Evaluations.The REO Best Practices portion covered REO's from start to finish. Filled with information crucial to understanding the REO process and to keeping Asset Managers happy! The presentation was good and the information was legitimate, current and useful. I appreciated that there wasn't a bunch of what I would call 'filler' material in it.Advanced Evaluations was also done well. On this one I felt it did stretch the material a bit, but this is somewhat understandable in that it there is just less to doing BPO's than there it to REO's. While I personally got much more out of the Best Practices portion, the Advanced Evaluations portion did act as a good refresher.All in all, I think the RDCPro designation is wothwhile and definitely adds value. While it has not directly led to any additional REO listings, I think it will and even if it didn't I still would be glad I completed it. Expanding your knowledge and learning new things about your profession will never be a bad thing.I can't speak on any of the other REO designations, but I would say that I give the RDCPro a thumbs up for providing good, useful and current training.Best of luck and let me know your thoughts on any other training/designations you know about or have completed.
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Ok, this blog is going to cause a lot of friction however, please understand that is my goal. I really want to hear your thoughts, both the pro’s and con’s.
Our industry has a lot of REO / BPO Firms popping up out of no where making huge promises if only you pay 199.99 for their training / certification / designation. The problem is, most of these companies aren’t what they are cracked up to be.
In fact, it has come to my attention through an anonymous source that many (how much exactly I don’t know and neither did my source) of these REO / BPO companies using their “designations, certifications and training” as their start up capital vs. going out and getting real funding from a bank or private capitalist. Well, you maybe thinking, “what is so wrong with that?”…….let me explain!
These companies don’t intend to ever produce a REO / BPO for their agents…..that’s right, you read correctly.
What these companies are doing is putting together a list of Realtors who are “certified” then they shop that list out to a Asset Manager list they bought from a data source like, Datasource.us. In other words, they aren’t doing anything more for you than you can do for yourself!
Read their agreements very carefully. They say things like, “Participate in our Advertising Program or We Assist our Clients in Finding the Right REO Agent to Sell Their Listings or Lenders Choose from our Experience List of Agents….blah….blah….blah.
You never hear them say, “Mrs. Jane Doe Realtor Extrodinare, our client…ABC Bank has three REO’s we need to assign in zip code XXXXX so, can you work that for us?”
In other words, they never quantify, qualify or guarantee and, that is because they can’t…..your just another name on a list of hundreds, if not thousands of other agents that are mailed out to these AM’s and after reading over the latest edition of “Ask the AM” we know how far that will get ya.
So, what about that 199.99 you paid, what is that getting you…..NOTHING! In fact, rather than going out and raising start up capital like any other legitimate business, these people are pocketing your training fee and using those funds to keep their illegitimate business cycle a float. These people can’t get start up capital from a bank or private investor because they can’t prove they will ever produce a single REO / BPO. So, if that is the case, why in all of creation do you think you are ever going to get a REO / BPO from them.
Now, let me make one disclaimer. I work for a company who charged me a 100.00 training fee and yes, I have their “certification / title” but, I researched the hell out of that company before I paid them and now I can tell you, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I won’t name the company in this particular blog but, if you know me well enough, you know what company I rave and support vigorously. If you dn’t know me that well…..read my blog archive, I have blogged about them several time and love them.
Now back on topic….so, as I was saying, many Realtors are paying these fees to never see a single REO or BPO only because, the company they signed up for never intended to produce a REO / BPO in the first place.
Even if they did go into the AM business with true intentions but, after 3 months, you haven’t gotten a single assignment, ask yourself…what is going on.
Truth is, with the high number of REO’s and BPO’s going on right now, to wait more than a couple of weeks for an assignment that cost you 199.99……..something is terribly wrong.
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Yesterday I attended an awesome REO seminar from www.NFSTI.com, National Foreclosure Sales Training Institute in Santa Monica, California. The featured speakers were 2 top REO listing agents and we had some surprise guest speakers. One was a top Asset Manager (can't mention any names, sorry). Another guest speaker was Thomas Moore from eBrokerHouse and he demonstrated their software live!Following is a photo of top REO listing agent Pam Eikelberry from Northern Nevada, giving instruction:
Posted by Steve Adkins on April 25, 2009 at 8:00am
I have to admit, I finally understand! After a week of HELL, I finally understand! But let me back up a step and set the stage for my short story.Like many agents in this market, I have been trying hard to get in the middle of this REO thing. Working the phone, shaking hands, writing BPO's for months, business events, etc. Finally, I get my first break and pick up 8 new-construction REO's in a partially started subdivision. The bank has been great to work with, but they want maximum value for their houses and are a little over priced, but still a great deal compared to what they once were. Sales have been slow. But that asset manager really like me work and referred me to an asset manager with a national bank.Finally after 9 months from the first BPO, and missing out on the first group of listings, we picked up another subdivision with 10 houses and 26 lots, all REO’s. Three of the houses were not finished yet, while the others were move-in ready. The bank came in with aggressive pricing, well below my BPO, pricing the unfinished houses at $49,900! One of the three was to the final drywall stage with most of the trim work in. What a deal I thought! And so do half of Georgia I think.As soon as the listings went into the MLS's my phone started ringing, and ringing, and ringing. Often with 2 or 3 calls coming in at one time. I could not get off one call without one to three messages left while on that one call. The listings were entered into the MLS's about 4 pm on Wednesday last week, by Friday at 3 PM I had already taken 14 to 16 written offers on the three unfinished properties and over 100 phone calls. The bank said no more offers, that they could not handle any more paperwork in a timely manner as I was sending them a new offer every 30 minutes. It was absolutely crazy! Never in my life have I've been in such a "feeding frenzy" like this. And I loved every minute of it!But the phones have not stopped ringing, or the email inquiries. And because I did not have binding agreements yet, only verbal agreements, I could not change the MLS status to “pending”. And banks can take days or weeks to get anything signed back to you, sometimes not until closing. I continued all week to answer every call, and return every message even so every call was coming in on these three unfinished houses I already had multiple competing offers on. I lost count sometime after the 30th call each day. It was to the point I had to turn my phone off to eat lunch or dinner with the wife. One morning I had to transfer my calls to my senior team member while I was in a CE Class, boy was her blood pressure up when I got out of class! I think I forgot to warn her before having my calls transferred, oops. ;-)Then by Monday, the "drive-by" calls started. I think every construction worker and investor in three states drove thru the subdivision and called off the yard signs! And of course everybody who saw a cheap home, thinking they could move right in and finish the house little by little. They saw price and never bothered to read the comments.So now, I finally understand! I fully understand why some agents never answer their phones or return calls. If I didn't have my team to help support me I would not have been able to return every call in a timely manner, if at all. I'm sure I may have missed a couple, as the volume of calls and emails was absolutely overwhelming for just one person. I quickly became an issue, as I could not address possible problems on the offers with the asset manager, which in my book is of the highest priority! And since she is not a real estate agent and not even in this state, she was not familiar with our standard forms. I still have not had time to make a quality flyer to put in the houses.I have been one to badmouth REO agents in the past, I will admit it, and I did it everyday. I had no idea why they were so unresponsive. I do now! I can see why their service seams so poor as there are not enough hours in the day and you have to set priorities in your daily activity, or you will never get anything done. Luckily I formed my team a year ago and we have become pretty organized, but this last week has opened my eyes to our weaknesses. Changes will have to be made, and quickly if we are going to keep up!Don't get me wrong, I hate the poor service many in this field provide. It's just not right to everyone involved. I understand why, but I do not like it! It takes work, hard work, to provide quality service. And because of the extra efforts I have made over this past week, we have been able to take an offer on another home in this subdivision, picked up 6 potential buyers for my team members to work with and another 10 showings since Monday by my team only. With another 30 showings by outside agents. I also have agents sitting open houses in the REO subdivision all weekend (without water and power in the main house), with other agents in my office begging to be able to sit open houses. How many people do open houses in an REO property?Finally, I Understand!Steve Adkins - RealtorNFSTI Certified REO SpecialistThe Adkins GroupBetter Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokerswww.The-Adkins-Group.comRead more…
About a month ago, I woke from a dream as if I was directed. Everyone knows what it is like to come to a fully conscious state with no lag time, this is not a new event in anyone’s life, but what I was thinking about was new.I am sure somewhere in the back of my mind, I had heard about the problems of our local food bank but to be honest I can’t tell you when or where I had heard it. I know what your thinking, dreaming about a “Food Bank” how exciting that is, NOT.We’ll now fully conscious I rocketed to the computer and put in a web address. My fingers without missing a key typed in RealtorWillWorkForFood and there was nothing there. Again I know what your thinking, this man has no life, waking up at 2:30am from a sound sleep and going to the computer.Well, If you were not thinking that I sure was. I forced my self back to bed and starting counting backwards looking for a few more hours of sleep. At 6:00 am I was back at the computer this time at Go Daddy registering the web address.Over the next few days I began working on the concept and drafted up the text for a few web pages. Then I went to my sphere of influence and got some advise, but the people were to busy to help as quickly as I wanted to launch my project.Taking the bull by the horns, I taught myself to do a simple web design and I posted. This entire process was very satisfying. Taking on a new learning process and thinking out side of the box to help someone else has a reward , sometimes in ways you do not expect.I am sure in the near future someone will aid me make this site look a little better. There is a real problem with Hunger in our communities. I don’t want to give the whole story away. But I bet when you look at this it may give you a little “Out of the Box” inspiration. Visit this site if you would like Realtor Will Work For Food Dot Com.This is not a business promotion unless you consider the business of helping someone else to be a pursuit of wealth. I for one do, so maybe I should not be posting this in a blog… ah.. I am going to think “Out Side of the Box” and try it.What will be the next step? You know I have some more ideas,,, don’t you?
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Agents who do REO business are not long time successful residential agents in this market. They are people that we agents are not used to working with and they are unknown to us. Why isn't the business given to the BEST agents in the area, who know the values best?
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There's been a lot of questions concerning how a foreclosure this days will affect your credit score and ability to qualify to purchase a home in the future. Here's an older article from NY Times which somewhat addressed the matter.How Will Foreclosure Effect Credit Scores?The amount of damage to a credit score caused by foreclosure, deed in lieu or a short sale during 2008 and 2009 may be mitigated by the slower economic times, say some credit and legal experts.FICO may have to adjust its credit scores to lessen the impact of a foreclosure in the last two years, says Todd J. Zywicki, a professor of law at George Mason University.''It just seems obvious that a foreclosure in 2008 or 2009 doesn't have as much information value as a foreclosure five years ago,'' he says. ''To the extent that foreclosure doesn't predict future behavior as much as it did in the past, you'd expect that the FICO algorithm would change to adjust for that.''One of the country’s largest credit unions Golden 1 has already figured out a way to lend to people with a foreclosure on their record by offering a mortgage repair loan specifically for those who have lost a home to foreclosure and who want to buy a new one.BECU, another large credit union based in Washington State, is about to present a program to fellow lenders, ''How to Lend to the Newly Credit Impaired.”Source: The New York Times, Ron Lieber (03/14/2009
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Due to the lifting of the foreclosure moratorium at the end of March, the downward slide in housing is gaining speed. The moratorium was initiated in January to give Obama's anti-foreclosure program---which is a combination of mortgage modifications and refinancing---a chance to succeed. The goal of the plan was to keep up to 9 million struggling homeowners in their homes, but it's clear now that the program will fall well-short of its objective.In March, housing prices accelerated on the downside indicating bigger adjustments dead-ahead. Trend-lines are steeper now than ever before--nearly perpendicular. Housing prices are not falling, they're crashing and crashing hard. Now that the foreclosure moratorium has ended, Notices of Default (NOD) have spiked to an all-time high. These Notices will turn into foreclosures in 4 to 5 months time creating another cascade of foreclosures. Market analysts predict there will be 5 MILLION MORE FORECLOSURES BETWEEN NOW AND 2011. It's a disaster bigger than Katrina. Soaring unemployment and rising foreclosures ensure that hundreds of banks and financial institutions will be forced into bankruptcy. 40 percent of delinquent homeowners have already vacated their homes. There's nothing Obama can do to make them stay. Worse still, only 30 percent of foreclosures have been relisted for sale suggesting more hanky-panky at the banks. Where have the houses gone? Have they simply vanished?600,000 "DISAPPEARED HOMES?"For the rest of the story follow this link: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1045921/Housing-Bubble-Smackdown-Bigger-Crash-Ahead-Huge-Shadow-InventoryRead more…
I feel compelled to write after reading the "Ask the Expert" article. It mirrors my feelings about many things, but mostly the big WHY of why I went into Real Estate in the first place, and the WHY of who I currently work with.But it leaves me with a question as well.........If you are not honest about why you work you only deceive yourself. We work to make money to take care of and protect those we love. As a lifelong entrepreneur who has been in construction and sales - I work to help people. For the most part I work professions that allow me to express myself, help people, and yes make money. I know deep down I can become rich if I help enough people. I can square that with myself and my God all day long. I celabrate my 1 year anniversary with Keller Williams today after working with what used to be a bigger company for 5 years. Keller Williams has been life changing for me in that they believe in having the best of the best - teach the rest. They share, they know there is enough for all and no one person or company will ever take over the market and keep it all to themselves.So I have built relationships in and out of my office. I have a buyers agent, a transaction manager, and many vendors who all have the same goal, service. We get paid when the job is complete. It is a fact that I now make less money per transaction because of the group concept. But it is also true that I am now freed up to do what I do best. I trust each of them and we work on an asset by asset basis - we are independent agents who have banded together to enhance our areas of competence. In all of that - I find I now do a much better job for our clients because I can focus more on their needs instead of paperwork.I am going to a REO/BPO convention soon in Texas and am looking forward to the experience bigtime. I am not a wall flower or shy person but wonder... I am going to network(impress and get more business). I know they have needs I can meet and exceed(compared to what I see being done currently). I know that what I/WE do gets homes sold quicker. I know there are few AM's compared to the many Vendors(me) who want more business- I also know tackling and shoving my card in their pocket will not get the results I want. I am a bit concerned as to how I can be different than my competition at the convention, be noticed, get business - with a servant mindset not violating my principles. More later....
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I have noticed the poor quality of work that some of the REO listing agents are displaying lately here in Miami. Things like untimely (or no) return of phone calls, unavailability on weekends, poor description of the listed properties (many with no remarks and no pictures), uncooperative assistance to buyer's agents and other behaviors that, not only make us all look bad, but also hurt the asset managers and ultimately the properties' owners.I have inquired to some asset managers and they declare that they have systems in place to monitor the quality of their REO agents, yet what I see everyday in the field is disturbing. Some of these agents keep getting more listings despite the quality of their service.Any thoughts?
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Fifteen new foreclosed or short sale homes came on the market, about one in every six homes being listed in the Prescott Arizona Area MLS system, and one quarter of the closings were distressed sales in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt and the outlying areas of Yavapai County. This shows a marked decrease from last week’s numbers.The difference between what newly listed traditional homes and Prescott foreclosed/REO and short sale properties per square foot remains large at a 40% discount.News has been mixed last week with positive housing numbers coming out of California and the Phoenix area, but news of more foreclosures on the horizon as load modifications fail and banks are removing moratoriums on foreclosures. Watch this space for more info!The percentage of foreclosed/REO/short sale new listings on market increased from 17% to 18% this week. Last week 48% of the pending sales were REO or short sales, and this week they made up 33% of the deals going into escrow. The percentage of REO/short sales that closed last week went from 56% last week to 26% this week. REO/short sales sold about 92% faster than traditional resales.See the full report on our main web site.You can get this report sent to you via email. Sign up here.Read more…
If you have chased the elusive Bulk REO as I have than you are probably wondering how to get your hands on a real buyer, a real seller and a real tape. You probably also ran across your fair share of , NCNDs, MFAs, intermediaries, mandates, broker chains, "buyers", "sellers" and a fair share of tapes. One thing I have learned is to do a lot of due diligence and not to get too excited like I did at the beginning of my bulk REO journey. I am embarrased to say how much time has been "invested" in this endeavor and not yet have a successful transaction. However, am happy to say I have established new relationships, learned the real meaning of due diligence and have become somewhat of an REO expert. Guess it's a part of earning your stripes. The funny thing about life is that when you chase something too hard you end up driving it away. I no longer chase the elusive bulk REO deal but will wait patiently for it to fall on my lap.Please share any suggestions, comments, experiences or your own goose chases
Posted by Ellen Dittman on April 20, 2009 at 10:49am
Attitude is everything in this business. My chosen field as a Real Estate Professional has brought me to so many wonderful people over the years. I enjoy every minute of it down to the interesting conversations with Loss Mitigation Depts of various bank. I have 17 short sale listings right now and though it might not seem like much to some, to me they are valued because I have learned so very much over the past months and this year alone. I used to be in contact with REO asset managers (2) in Calif where I once lived in the 1998-2001 timeframe when REO's and short sales were mostly unheard of. So we are back the game there so to speak.
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