You are an agent. Ask other agents who handles the REOs.
You will find that in a metro area there are specific agents who have the relationship.
There is one in the NWREII group. He posts to the mailing list.
There is one at CB-BSS's office in Beaverton at The Round. They get a lot of referral business through the CB network if my memory is correct.
Speak with your Broker as they might know who are the main folks if the broker has been active for a number of years.
Once you have the agent's names you can search by agent.
In many cases that I have seen there will be a comment indicating that the owner is a bank or other special instructions that apply to offers being made on the property (mostly related to lack of seller disclosure).
Peter, it has been my experience that the REO properties can be found through MLS by setting your filter to "Foreclosures" in the Disclosures section. This is available to agents. My perspective is through the Houston MLS. "Foreclosures" in this sense means that the property has already gone to auction or the Sherrif's sale, was not sold to a third party and has been assigned to a broker or first to an asset management company and then to a broker for sale.
Some banks have web sites for their REO properties, but if you find one there, it is likely to already be on MLS or it soon will be. Banks turn over the un-auctioned properties to brokers or asset managers quickly, sometimes within 48 hours. The broker may provide a BPO, deal with occupants, rekey locks, do cleanup and provide electricity for showings. Therefore, the broker could have a considerable investment in the property, and the purchaser will find this investment in the price whether the property is found on MLS or on a bank site.
As a general rule, I and many other REO agents don't advertise our listings as REO, bank owned, foreclosure or anything else that could potentially devalue our client's property. Most banks and asset managers want it this way. However, after 30 days or so with no contract, I will ad Bank Owned to try and generate showings.
In my market they normally list the owner as "client of office" and its always sold "as-is". Both of which being key terms that I search for in the MLS when looking for an REO. I then cross reference to find any other listings of that particular agent. In my area normally a particular lender will deal with one agent to list all of their REO's.
As a general rule, I and many other REO agents don't advertise our listings as REO, bank owned, foreclosure or anything else that could potentially devalue our client's property. Most banks and asset managers want it this way. However, after 30 days or so with no contract, I will ad Bank Owned to try and generate showings.
I am not sure that we can speak for what most banks or asset mangers do unless we polled the larger group.
I do agree that they will want the best price so will want to provide the best light for their property. In some markets one way to tell is to look at the disclosure area of an MLS listing. When the seller is not able to provide disclosure statements you know you are dealing with someone who has not lived in the property. There are other signs as Ryan has mentioned.
To all:
Market practices will vary across the US. MLS boards are locally owned and the practices reflect local conventions. Hence the practices can and will vary within a state but more so across state lines.
DYOR - Do Your Own Research. If you are an agent then check the local listing and look for patterns. If you are not an agent then find a buyer's agent and put them to work. Or contact a listing agent for REOs and get copies of their listings. You will normally see patterns.
If you can not find patterns then you have to assume that one of two things are true. You are bad at spotting them or they do not exist in your area. If the later is true then there is a need to adjust your strategy.
When I worked as an Asset Manager for one of the largest players in the REO industry, I and my colleagues asked our agents to remove any reference to REO, Bank Owned or Foreclosure. This was a directive from our superiors. Many of my former colleagues are now with other asset management firms and lenders across the country, and still practice the same core principals.
It's up to the individual listing brokerage and his/her client if certain terms are to be used.
John, I don't doubt that you know your business, you obviously have a vast wealth of knowledge; but I can assure you that I also know mine - not better than everyone, but better than most.
John, I don't doubt that you know your business, you obviously have a vast wealth of knowledge; but I can assure you that I also know mine - not better than everyone, but better than most.
Will, go back up 2 replies (all from FlordiaREOagent) and you will see the same quote plus a very similar comment. Other than repeating yourself was there something else you wanted to say?
Basically to sum this up like John and others have said
1st find out which companie handle reos in your area
2nd set a filter to search only those companies listings
3rd look for key phrases like "no disclosures" and "as is"
4th get to know the brokers / assoc brokers/ for those companies see if they can get you on a list of upcoming reo's. Some reo companies will not let the broker or anyone in the brokers office bid on their properties. So those would be great as you would not have inside opposition.
5th watch their listings that you know are REO's and when they get near the 90 day mark bid em low as it is a point where a lot of times the listing is about to expire, and sometimes you can get a steal there.
Are you able to tell how long the listing has been up to know when it will hit 90 days if you weren't around the 1st day it was listed?
Is it best to contact every reo real estate agent in town and chat with them and have them send you their updated list? Do most agents email a list to people every day? What should I talk to these agents about when I tell them I want to buy Reos? Will they wonder why they should work with me over another investor? Are they earning their whole commission on these deals?
The listing date is on the MLS sheet.
That simply depends on your preference. You could contact one good buyers agent, or contact many including REO listing agents. Feel it out and see which seems more productive. If you are engaging multiple Buyer's agents, please have the courtesy to let them know that you're working with others.
No, but many MLS systems allow their member agents to input their client's info and set them up for daily email alerts. Unfortunately most agents haven't learned how to do it yet.
Talk to them about you buying REOs.
Some REO agents maintain a list of active investors that they notify of new listings, some don't. Starting out you'll just be another email address, perform well without alot of BS like ridiculous offers and assignable contracts and you'll grow to be more than that.
If they're the only agent involved in the transaction, yes. I'd note that this isn't as important to some REO agents as investors tend to believe. Some agents that carry 50 to 100 REO listings at a time, would often prefer that the buyers use another agent to assist them in buying because as the listing agent of so many properties, they don't have time to baby-sit transactions. You'll find that most top-producing REO agents have buyer's agents that actually show their listings and deal with the public.
Will they wonder why they should work with me over another investor?
If you actually perform they would have lots of motivation to work with you. Most investors can not take down every deal that might come along. A good agent will have a few buyers they work with.
Originally posted by "jeff88":
Are they earning their whole commission on these deals?
Do not worry if they earned the commission or not. Just focus on if the deal makes sense to you as the buyer. How hard they work on any one deal is never the issue. If the agent is experienced you are benefiting from years of experience and their network. They earn what the market pays for their services.
If you are hiring an agent then you can negotiate commissions.
I would be looking at doing one at a time, not in bulk. Which of the below strategies would be best?
1. Prequalify for hard money loan. Buy an reo that only needs a few repairs. Sell to a consumer with all of my profit being financed as owner financed second, thus getting my profit over time.
2. Prequalify for hard money loan. Buy deeply discounted reo fixer in double close with selling to an investor for fee. If not able to find any investors, buy the deal with hard money loan and find a contractor who will do the work and split the profits of the deal.
3. Find private investor who funds the whole deal and repair cost with his money or a hml. Then we lease option it out and hold over time, splitting profits.
4. Same as 3 but just rent it out
Is it hard to find private investors to do this sort of thing? Other than just finding the good reo deals, is funding a bottleneck that prevents investors from buying more deals?