It's always important to recognize existing relationships and specifically say that you don't want to interfere with them...but leave the door open for future business. Sometimes it comes from them, and sometimes it comes from people they refer you to.

Sounds like your tryout for the team landed you a spot on the bench with the hopes of an early or periodic substitution into the game. I believe the coach was impressed with the homework and knowledge (potential foreclosures that the VP was not aware of).  This knowledge earned you an early substitution as the coach wants to see what else you can deliver. My bet is that you have a good chance to mke the starting lineup.

I agree Sharon.  I think the listings we got were things that the other broker did not want.  I am not sure though.

Ron, you snuck in while I was typing.  I hope you are right on that one.  Nothing wrong with a spot on the bench!  Frankly, we were happy to make it through the front door.  

Guys - I have been doing bank work for about 10 years now.  It is always the deal that nobody else wants that seems to get you in the door.  Sometimes it is the deal nobody else CAN do.  Every once in a while you just get a shot.  You get lucky and are in the right place at the right time.

The great thing about banks is that you make one relationship and get multiple deals.

You might also look into the state bankers association and the state community banking association.  Nobody else here is prospecting these guys except me.

Good luck. 

Thanks, Rich.  That is a great thought! 

I used to be a banker, so at least I know what it is like on the inside.

Do you have any advice for getting that first appointment with the bank? 

Good job Maureen. I know in my area the same few Realtors have been handling the forecloosure market for years. Excellent thay Dmitry was able to break down the barrier that quick.

Welcome to the world of REO's! Good luck with your try-out.  Maybe the veteran is ready to retire after 20 years!

The larger banks all use servicers and those guys are tough.  I would just start calling the banks and ask for the loss mitigation department and the REO department.  Find out if they manage their own REO or if they source to a servicer. 

When you find the right person, the best time (this works for me) is to request a 15 minute meeting first thing in the morning.  You might get a NO.  At that point I say "Come on.  I will bring the Starbucks.  What do you like?"

Also - Don't discount the value of the managers assistant.  When things get busy people tend to yell at their assistants "I don't care who you call.  Just get it done."  The other question commonly heard is "Who was that guy that does ........" Most assistants are on my mailing list too.

A mentor once told me after I mentioned our particular profession was saturated with compition,
"There is always room for the best"

Great Job - It does pay to think outside the box and take some risks.

Good Work! Someday you’ll be in our position: wealthy beyond your wildest dreams of avarice, and turning down client wannabes! OK, so we never reached “avarice.”

Hats off to Dmitry! So he really does exist then?  :)

It does not matter if your client is an individual or a business. It all boils down to relationships. You were able to start building a relationship whcih will probably result in more business.  Around these parts it can take years to meet the right people and build the realtionships with the bankers that have the inventory and in one case I think they are hiring there own sales people to do the job.

Dennis, I love your quote: "There is always room for the best."  I have never heard that before.

Jay, I am glad that you and Med never reached 'reprehensible acquisitiveness.'  I had to go get the dictionary definition of avarice to sound that erudite.

Rich, her certainly does exist!  He just prefers Russian speaking car forums over real estate sites. What can I do?

Teresa, interesting to think they are hiring their own sales people.  They would have to deal with licensing to then, I presume.  Maybe it's cheaper, but I doubt it.

I know I wrote a response to this post this morning; did it disappear with the dashboard? LOL  to reiterate!  You are thinking like the creative people you are!  You guys rock...... (I was much more intelligent about it this morning.)

Carole, looks like we have disappearing comments!! Hope nobody lost any posts.  Thanks for the kind words.

Maureen,

In my area, getting into the banks themselves is a very tough proposition, almost impossible due to the same reason you stated, they have been working with the same Realtors for 20 years.  Kudo's to Dimitri for getting in there, period!

Thanks Karen.  I was pretty proud of him for the whole thing.  Banks are not super keen on change.  So you are right, just making past the receptionist was a reason for celebration!

Wow!!! High Five Dmitry!!  That's the way to open new doors.

Ines

PS - "Papaya" in Venezuela is used to say "piece of cake" - very appropriate I think

Russian-speaking car forums??? Do they just chat about Volgas? Boy, talk about a market niche!

I wondered if foreclosures might be a market niche ..then read what Rich said just aboe my entry...Now I am wondering if this might be a place where my rookie brokers could learn the listing business. ..reading about your experience has me intrigued and enlightened me. I'm going to put foreclosure listings on the agenda for our next staff meeting!.

If you plan on making foreclosures a focus plan on filling out a significant amount of applications that ask about the listing agents experience and ask for references from 1-5 other REO sellers that they have worked for.  This is for larger banks.  Smaller or community banks may work direct, but are still looking for experienced agents.

While this might look like a good training ground, it is only so with an experienced mentor.  Agents need experience with foreclosure law (sometimes), evictions, cash for keys operations, BPO presentation (almost a full appraisal these days), rehab estimating, marketing, etc.  They need to be detail oriented and prepared to file written reports on the sellers schedule.  They need to be extremely computer savvy as all of this needs to be done online with uploads, PDF scans and email.  One should expect to do a lot of lost leader work and you may need to do 10-20 BPO's (paid at $50 +/- each) before getting 1 listing.

The sheer amount of "could happens" is staggering.

I think I will do twice the work for one REO deal than most do on an average listing.  It pays off, but the real payoff is to the people that do it for a living.

If you want to make real money at REO, I wouldn't consider it a training ground.  Find people in your office that want to specialize in this business and encourage them.

See "crackhouse king" blog for more.

Rich, you forgot to mention dealing with squatters, dead bodies, pit bulls, trashouts, copper pipe thefts.....The list goes on and on.

I will head over to crackhouse king.  Dead bodies don't sound too appealing. 

And that's the suburbs.

Who knows.  Maybe not everyone works the war zones, but you really don't get to pick and choose.

Point is if you are trying to compare consumer / owner occupant to owner occupant sales to foreclosure / REO, it is like comparing apples to elephants.

I can't say that I see how REO trains you for anything else or why you would want to jump into REO without some type of background in distressed assets.  It is difficult to break in, so success comes only after time in the industry and it is unforgiving if you make a mistake.

Just not what I would call a great place for rookies.  It's kind of like being drafted into the Army, being handed a rifle right after they shave your head and being told "go that way and don't get shot".  A long time ago someone thought that 8 weeks with the drill instructor might be a good idea.

Maureen, Not trying to scare you. I have to say I think we've only had to dead with two dead bodies so far. The squatters are far more scary to me. It is a great niche industry and can be very interesting. I just think that it is probably not a training ground for new agents. It is way to easy to get into trouble without even realizing it. If you guys are already dealing with foreclosures for your personal investments etc doing REO work does seem like in might be a natural fit. Good luck with your first two.

Rich and Melissa, I agree that REO does not seem like any place at all for a rookie. It's also specialized enough that there are very few people to learn from.  I can tell you that foreclosures were NEVER discussed in any training we had as new agents.

I do fear the live ones more than the dead ones!  Fortunately for us, this one is already vacant.  In the few days since we listed it we've had a boatload of interest.

The REO process of asset management has come a long way since I specialized in them back in the late 1980's.  At that time I was the contact point for removing the trash, doing the rehab, etc. etc. 

Of course back then, I didn't typically compete for the business.  I was the bank's contact point for my area.  They occasionally would get a back up BPO to substantiate my values, but I got the listings.  It was a great relationship, one that I held in high esteem.

Today, things are different.  There are REO vendors out there getting the job, because they are the lowest bidder.  They farm out the BPO's paying little or nothing to the hordes of agents who are waiting with their hands out for a shot at a listing.  Yes, doing 10-20 bpo's before you get lucky and get a listing is normal. 

Is going after REO business worth it?  Not now, not that way.  Chances are if you are getting paid to do a BPO, you will not be getting the listing.  You are doing BPO's to validate a purchase of bad loans.  Or to substantiate another broker's price or "under contract".  You are not going to get a listing!

MF already has the listing.  Now all she needs to do is learn The Talk.  Investors (or wannabes) call.  What they are looking for is a "deal". So give it to them.  Develop a list of all the REO properties in your area, or I guess I should say a list of links.  They will love you for it and you will get their business if you help them.

In today's age with the internet, it should be a cinch to sell these puppies...if they are priced right.

I will send up a balloon thought; use caution.  Don't get so entrenched in REO business that it's the only thing you are doing.  Remember, this too will pass.  One day you will wake up and be out of business. It will be time to start over....ouch!

So blend your reo listings with your "real" business.  Don't  neglect one for the other.  If you do, you will be just fine.

(Trust me on this...as I learned the HARD way! Lucky that was a long time ago! I survived!)

kk

Sorry MF ~ I wrote a blog, not a comment! :)

No need to be sorry KK.  I needed that comment.

Personally, I don't plan on making this the center of our business. I even have a bit of concern about how it mixes with our core business.   

I like your idea of leveraging the reo's for the investors.  Now to implement.

We haven't had to do countless BPOs awaiting a payoff.  That was fortunate, I guess.  Sounds like they are something I don't want to start now...

MF ~ it looks like Dimitry snagged the gold ring by going in the back door.  Local banks are better to work with than big, far away asset management companies.  At least you can go in and look someone in the eyes to get it marketable and sold.

Maureen Good for you and Dmitry.

I don't know the forclosure market but listings are listings.

BTW Barclays is a really good bank. An agent in my office had a quadrapelegic buyer from Up State NY with no job skills that was recruited by Barclays and trained to be an analyst. They've really taken care of this kid that was in a terrible accident.

Another blog topic. Manhattan is not very wheelchair accessible.

Mitchell, though there is a Barclay's photo on this blog, Barclay's is NOT our client.  I just liked the photo of the ATMs.  I will put a comment on the blog to make that clear.  

KK, we are lucky. This is a local bank and the asset manager is only about 3 miles away from our office. 

Yes, MF that IS lucky.  Having a local representative that can SEE what you are seeing (and hearing) will make all the difference in the world for you and Dmitry.

kk

Great job of stepping outside the comfort zone and really accomplishing something. I hope that it continues to grow for you, as others have said the local connection is so important.

Maureen,

Its your buddy "up north" its been a while since we chatted...I hope all is well. I've been considering testing the REO waters of Northern Michigan. There is a broker up here that has a listing bank of roughly 30-40 foreclosures at a time...Have you guys looked into picking up a few more? I feel that the type of people (investors) that buy foreclosure properties could end up be your BEST clients...If you have looked into working the forclosure market...what are good sources?