BRING ALL OFFERS on those REO’s & BANK FORECLOSURES
Looking Out For The Buyer Customer
I read recently that 80% of all sales are REO/Shortsales in the Florida Market! According to the industry experts, they are here and will be for the next 3-5 years. This is not regular real estate and I am on a mission to clear up some rumors; misinformation and hopefully raise the bar in how these transactions are handled because quite frankly, I work too darn hard to be painted with the same brush as used on the agents who play loose and free with their ethics or lack of them.
I hope if you have questions, you will check back in this space or contact me directly at: 386-299-6393 or send your specific questions to: reo@Funcoastlife.com .
Unlike regular real estate, your offer does not get presented face-to-face to the seller which in this case is a bank or an Asset Manager/Representative/Outsourcer for the Owner/Investor /maker of the Loan. Once you sign that contract you have no assurance that the seller has even seen your offer! You and your agent are often left in the dark waiting for days on end for word back as to the status of the contract.
Newsflash- REO properties normally have a contract response within 24 hours, perhaps 48 if it is an inexperienced or over whelmed Asset Manager. The rumors and stories you hear about weeks and months taking time for responses are Shortsales….an entirely different animal !
Everything is done in writing, usually online these days, occassionally via email and a few dinosaur companies still fax…but there is a paper trail. The Asset Managers insist on accountability of the REO Agents….you need to as well. The information is available. Make it part of your contract that all negotiation’s worksheets/emails/faxes between the bank and the REO Agent regarding your contract must be supplied for your review.
Every bank I have ever dealt with, and to date, over the 10 plus years as an REO Agent, the number exceeds 3 dozen, ALWAYS asks for a highest and best offer in the case of a multiple contract situation. But, if the REO Agent doesn’t let you know that there are other offers on the table…you don’t have an even playing field. (His client has a poor excuse for an agent….but I digress…) Have your agent put in language contingency in your contract that, in the event of a multiple contract situation, you wish for the opportunity to be notified so that you may reconsider your offer and terms. I would also suggest notifying the broker that you are submitting an offer and that you expect to be contacted in a multiple contract situation, because brokers are some of the last to know that their agents aren’t operating fairly. When the broker starts hearing this message over and over again, he’ll start to get the message. I write this post because of a certain REO agent in my town who has just caused my Buyer’s Agent to lose the 4th deal because he does not notify anyone of multiple contracts, including his Bank client….which happens to also be my Bank Client. You’d think he’d know better.
Agents at Concord Real Estate will gladly supply you with the paper trail and fully disclose timelines for negotiations. With real estate prices declining and Deals becoming Steals, the competition for bargain priced houses will become more and more cut throat so guard yourself by taking these steps if you are a buyer….if you are an agent, insist on them on behalf of your buyer.
Wishing you sunshine,
Janet Fetterman, Broker Associate/Owner
Concord Real Estate
132 Canal Street
New Smyrna Beach FL