Posts Tagged ‘Foreclosure’
A Quick Fix for Drywall Discoloration in REO Properties for Sale
It is quite common to find discoloration caused by water intrusion in abandoned foreclosure listings. Depending on the price and condition of the property, your client may choose to repair and replace or simply find a more cost-effective solution for getting the home free of potential safety hazards and ready for market. In this video, I'll show you how we creatively handled the situation in a property that had some discoloration in the basement. I should mention that I hear myself using the word "mold" in this video. I am incorrectly saying using this term. The drywall had discoloration and I am NOT a mold expert and could not identify it as discoloration of the drywall. Furthermore, you'll notice that I mention that it is less than 100 contiguous feet, which is the standard by which many companies determine whether or not full "remediation" is necessary. In this case, it was not. Take a look at the end result of our "fix". Also be sure to notice that I check to see if the source of the problem is fixed as well. In this case it was not and I had to report it to my REO Asset Manager and my contractor had to return and get it corrected. "Band Aids" don't work. Double check every time! Hey, a repair like this on a bank owned property isn't always a pretty process but it gets the job done safely and properly!
Training Agents Who SELL Your REO Properties....Most Don't "Get" It.
So yesterday I failed...Well, actually my staff failed but that means that ultimately I was responsible. Whew....got the self blame out of the way. Is it supposed to feel good to take responsibility or is it just the right thing to do? Who knows and WHO CARES! 
Anyway, I get an email from my office manager telling me to call a particular selling broker, who was upset about how the negotiations were going on one of my listings. He really could not believe that his buyer's offer was flat out "rejected" without a seller counter right in the middle of negotiations (very short negotiations I might add...his buyer was WAY low on price). Anyway, long and short of it was that did not "believe" that banks would just stop negotiating in mid-stream and force a buyer to either walk or counter their own counter. The guy actually believed that the bank was using his offer to shop other offers. He REALLY just didn't "get it"! So how do you (and how do I NORMALLY) prevent this?
Haha...I'm BACK!...and You Better "Listen Up"!
Hello again REO Rockstars! As many of you know, I have been a regular road warrior lately, going cross country for weeks at a time to get knee-deep in the trenches with the big shots of the REO world. Accept my apology for the delay in new posts, but trust me, you won't think I owe you anything-nada-when you soak in all of the knowledge that I've gained to share with all of you in the next few months. In case you haven't noticed, things are changing quite a bit in our industry. Banks are telling us of MONSTROUS foreclosure numbers that are looming like giant storm clouds ready to crash down on just about every major city in the country. While many people have been listening to the b.s. being spewed out by the media that "times are getting better", I'm here to tell you that we're merely in the eye of the foreclosure storm-and a TERRIFYING storm it's gonna be.....that is, except for us REO guys!
Great REO Resources
It is extremely critical that you have the right information and good resources for insights into the REO industry. I for one am a big fan of one of Donald Trump's sayings: "Know everything about what you are doing". Two resources truly stand out for me: DS News is the REO industry's resource for industry events and information that's of high interest to every REO broker. Each year they publish their famous "Red Book" that highlights the major financial institution players in the business.
RealtyTrac is the number one provider of accurate real estate and REO statistics. This is THE best place to get data feeds, widgets and foreclosure article RSS feeds to dress up your website and make it "buyer sticky". The Foreclosure Trends subscription is the real "hook" for investors. Get it here.
Again, if you need help setting these tools up simply contact Brent Guest at BHGDigital LLC for custom web design.
A Real POS! Even if an REO "Stinks" You Still Need to Fix These Things...
OK, sometimes you get an REO that you really don't even want to bother with. But it's part of the foreclosure game-you take the good, bad, ugly and the POS! A bank will certainly appreciate your ability to help them manage and dispose of their worst problem properties....especially those that no one else wants. It's important that you remember that EVERY REO deserves equal treatment-regardless of how much you may despise the house (hey look-none of us our psychics. Sometimes it's the most run down house that sells the quickest. NEVER "curb qualify" a property). So let's take a look at this beauty of a listing and I'll show you some of the things that MUST be repaired no matter how rotten a property is.
