Some REO Agents are SOOOOO Much BETTER than others in presenting their listings

Today, I spent the afternoon taking my clients to see several REO listings, and compare them to short sale and regular listings.

Using the polygon feature of our MLS,we delineated areas where my clients like, and we chose 16 properties to look at.

Since this is my clients' first foray into viewing REOs, they were surprised at how different the agents took care of, and promoted their listings.

THE BAD

• No pictures
• Only one picture
• Fuzzy pictures
• Trash/garbage cans in front of the property
• Keys that don't work --- or missing keys, or wrong combination
• No lights
• No water --- and when people use the bathrooms without having water to flush the toilets, watch out!
• Incomplete descriptions, or no descriptions at all in the public or confidential remarks
• No indication on whether the locks are Supra or combination locks
• Trashed places with no attempt to clean them out

THE INCONVENIENT

• If combination lockbox, the agents require email requests to get the combination codes
• And when we call or email, we don't get the answers promptly. Sometimes, we don't even hear back from them at all!

THE GOOD

• Multiple and CLEAR pictures on the MLS
• Explicit instructions on where/when/how to submit offers
• Detailed descriptions on public and confidential remarks
• Thoroughly cleaned properties --- even if the previous owners have vandalized the property or removed the appliances, the properties manage to look neat and/or clean
• Info on what type of lock is at the property
• Easy to open locks,
• Instructions to call a dedicated number that provide an update on the status of the property (accepted offer? Pending? Still available?)
• Prompt responses to calls, voicemails, emails

What happened to REO agent's clean up crew?

I was under the impression that one of the reasons REO agents are selected is because they have teams of people that include those who replace locks, clean out the properties and make them halfway presentable.

Today, we got a taste of the good, the bad and the ugly. It was a rare breath of fresh air when we saw a group of people actually working to clean out a place (they were shampooing the carpet, washing down walls, cutting the yard, hauling away junk). They even told us to use booties as we entered the place.

The agent's description and pictures were so good that there was a constant number of agents and their buyers coming and going to that property. There is a published offer date --- and you can bet there will be several offers.

PERCEPTION IS REALITY!

We know enough to lower our expectations when it comes to REOs. The buyers are inclined to offer much less on properties that look, but may not really need, as much work as they seem. On the other hand, a property that is clean may not only attract more attention, but may also bring multiple AND higher offers.

Related posts

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To the REO Agents: What's with the attitude?

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Include material info in the MLS