Elizabeth Silva

I LOVE finding new tools to help me with my Business. Since I've been doing REO it's been tough to find free time to look around for new tools and widgets to help me. Since I had some extra time today I thought I'd share a few things...

I'm often asked what I use to keep track of my REO's. There are so many online softwares available like TazaREO, REO Maestro and many others. I took a peek, but one thing kept me from taking the plunge.. I would LOSE control of my data. I didn't like the fact that the data i would enter (and it would be ALOT of data) would be online and not easily exported out of the system if I ever decided to cancel the service. I'd be stuck - and i didn't like that idea.

So... I stuck with what I was using: ACT! by Sage. Whaaat? you may be wondering how the heck i use ACT to keep track of REO. Well, Act is very customizable. I customized all my fields, tabs, etc. to work with my REO business.

My Groups consist of my Asset Companies or Banks that I work with - and then the subgroups are the actual properties or assignments. It works for me!! Simple, it works, and it's all mine. I have control over it.

I was also using ACT for a Contact Management System. I love the mail merge, etc. My problem: TIME. It takes up a lot of time to create the letter, make the mail merge, print it all out, create the labels, put a stamp on all hundreds of them.. I think you get the picture!!!!!!!!

Anyone in REO knows we have shortage of time. Not enough time in the day. My Faux-Pas in the past few years, has been not keeping in close contact with my prior Buyers/Seller Clients and customers. (SHAME ON ME!)

Anyone in Real Estate knows that the key to long-lasting Referrals and future business is to maintain a healthy relationship and communications with your Sphere of Influence.

So since then, I've started using another contact management system which you can take a peek at by visiting www.thatcardsite.com... and I share with you the latest tid-bit that I've found (I LOVE IT)...

How do you like the Idea of:

• SAVING INK, PAPER & MOST IMPORTANTLY: TIME
• BEING REMINDED THAT YOUR BUYER'S 1-YR, 2-YR, 3-YR CLOSING ANNIVERSARY IS COMING UP?
• NOT HAVING TO RUSH TO THE STORE TO PICK-UP A GIFT CARD FOR A CLOSING?
• NOT HAVING TO SPEND GAS, TIME, AND WAITING IN LONG LINES AT HALLMARK OR A STORE?
• BEING ABLE TO PICK FROM 15,000+ CARDS OR BETTER YET CUSTOMIZING YOUR OWN???

I was recently introduced to this great system by One of my 5 assistants. I literally didn't want to hear about it & blew her off a couple of times before she caught me in the office, called me over to see a CUSTOM card she had sent where she inserted a photograph of someone into the card, typed up a quick note and then hit send WITHIN A MATTER OF SECONDS!!!! -- Within 5 minutes of seeing it, I.. WANTED... IN!!!!

It was a no-brainer for me. I don't have the time.. and this was going to save me a whole lot of it. If that didn't make my sign-up any easier -- i was then told that i could make some extra cash on the side and create a residual income from it. Mind you, I didn't care much about this side of it as i'm making a good income from selling real estate.. but I'll take it!!

Take a look at the website... Let me know what you think. If it peaks your interest Give me a call or send me an email and I'd be happy to walk you through it. Visit the site and take advantage of the FREE gift account where you can test out the system - ON ME - and send out a few cards to see how you like it.

YOU create the design, with your OWN HANDWRITING, and SOC will Print it, Stuff it, Stamp it, Mail it (even with a Gift or Gift Card if you like) and you NEVER EVEN HAVE TO TOUCH IT! Brilliant!!!!! Wish I'd thought of it.

www.ThatCardSite.com

What is it with Businesses these days? Does noone want to work anymore??

One would think that a contractor gaining an "reo agent" contact would be a like gold to some. Apparently not! I can't tell you how many Contractors, Inspectors, Pool Companies, Electricians & Plumbers we call & never even get a call back! Do they realize what kind of business they can be tapping into?

I currently manage about 100 REO properties. Many of them are in need of some type of service or another. This requires the services of someone to: Trash out, Electrical services, Maid/Cleaning services, Rekey/Locksmith, Board-ups, Carpentry, and the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, I have my favorite contractors that are near & dear to me and I wouldn't trade my contractor for anything! (I won't name any names... Dave :-) But every once in a while, if one of our best contractors are on vacation or not available or if we require an additional bid or two,, we try letting in someone new. This is a rare and great opportunity to prove to us their worth and show us their work.. it can mean 100's of thousands of dollars a year in business for them! But we get rude replies, "we're too busy" or we don't give free bids,, yadda yadda... ok, so that FREE bid probably cost you a good 20-30 jobs this year with me! Bing-Bong do the math!

Just thought I'd vent & voice my shock that this has happened a few times in the last few months. I, for one, know that if I was one of the vendors named above I would be JUMPING FOR JOY that an reo agent actually called me rather than jumping through hoops to try and get "in" with a true reo agent. Maybe they didn't realize what they were missing............ can you say, "closing the door on a good opportunity?"

Anywho, the few that did call back enjoy call backs time after time since they have proven to us that they can get the job done. Ah well... what is it that they say,, Common sense is not all that common. Tee-hee!

These past few weeks were amazing for Showings as well as Offer submissions!

I believe it may be the result of the recent decrease in mortgage rates that have caused such an increase in buyer activity! Or maybe it's because the Holidays are over & it's back to home-searching for most buyers?

Let's take a look at the numbers:

Let's start with the inventory:

Team Silva is currently averaging about 50 Exclusively Listed REO properties for Sale. (We currently have over 130 assignments in pre-marketing phase, but only 50 of those are currently active & for sale on the market)

Utilizing our Property showings report through a centralized showing service we're able to easily view a report with all of our scheduled appointments/showings:

TOTAL# OF SHOWINGS:

JAN 18TH - JAN 20: - 47 SHOWINGS & COUNTING....

JAN 11TH - JAN 18TH: - 105 SHOWINGS

JAN 4TH - JAN 11TH: - 65 SHOWINGS

Looks like things are picking up! What does this mean for you? Well, if your looking for a deal you now have competition. We've been receiving a lot of multiple offers on the same properties.. this means a "Highest & Best" situation in most cases so you'll be competing against several buyers to get the house your wanting.

On another note:

BUYERS! Please DO NOT contact us directly regarding your offers if your currently working with another agent. We've been getting alot of buyers trying to go over their buyer's agents head & trying to contacting us directly with questions & wanting to tell us what they'll pay for the house.. We will NOT discuss this with you. It's a Moral/Ethical No-No for us. PLEASE contact your agent directly & he/she can discuss & ADVISE you appropriately. REMEMBER, we work for the SELLER, so if you tell us what your willing to pay for the house, we have a FIDUCIARY repsonibility to the seller to pass that information on them. We've been either referring these buyers back to their buyers agents (if they're able to catch us on the phone) or when they leave a message we have not been returning their phone calls, but advising their buyer's agent that their buyers have attempted to contact us & to take control. Please do not take this the wrong way, we don't mean it to sound unhelpful & don't mean to turn you away,, but it's the right thing to do in the real estate biz.. Your agent would NOT appreciate it if we discuss anything with you. I'm sure if you wanted to deal with us directly you would have done it to be begin with right? At this point, there's no turning back.. once you've put an offer in with another agent on a particular property or have gone into a buyer's agency contract with an agent who is representing you (we're all for having your own representation) you should refer to them throughout the whole process.

Have Fun Home-Searching,, There's PLENTY out there to choose from!!!

Ok.. I keep hearing this.

So in meeting with Friends/Family I'm greeted with the same question: "Hey, so how's the real estate market I hear nothing is selling Eh?"

HUH? Would i be working 75+ hours a week 7 days a week because nothing is selling? Yes the real estate market is declining considerably, but are houses selling? YES, OF COURSE! If the house is PRICED RIGHT, someone will buy it! If it's overpriced, well, then it's going to sit & get "stale" as we like to call it in this industry.

With currently 120 assignments right now, I'm going BONKERS! I get asked by every other agent who calls me how to "get in" with listing REO.. Oh if I had a dollar for every agent that asked me I would retire from Real Estate. Although I have given a tip or two to my fellow Realtor (who was no in my market area of course ;-)

But I digress... The market IS slowing, there is an oversupply of inventory & MANY sellers have their homes sitting with no activity. As many of you already know, especially if you have purposely visited my Blog, I list homes for Banks. Multi-million dollar corporations have entrusted me with listing their portfolio of recently foreclosed homes. And I think I do a helluva job. Oh sure, I get the frequent bitter agent here & there that might tell you otherwise, the ones who likes to nitpick, give me a hard time & then claim I don't do a good job, but I know better... I wouldn't be listing over a hundred homes if I didn't get the job done.

So, anywayREO. Stands for REAL ESTATE OWNED.

Real Estate Owned? By Whom? Well, by the foreclosing bank or lender, of course. The well kept secret of the savvy investor. Many buyers are catching on & it seems alot of the buyers putting in offers on my listings are first time, 2nd time homebuyers who want to buy an REO. People are doing their homework now, what with the internet and the power of knowledge at your fingertips. Most REO's are not for the faint of heart. They have plumbing damage, heating/ac issues, water damage, repairs that are needed... you name it. and the banks are selling AS-IS. So what you see is what you get.

But.. every once in a while we get a Gem. And when we do, I get a BIDDING WAR! But can you blame the buyer? A gorgeous home at a bargain price.

2007 was a busy year... Team Silva neared 10 million in Production/Sales & 2008 is starting off with a bang. From where I'm standing, with this many listings, I see how many Buyers are out there looking & making an offers. TRUST ME THEY ARE OUT THERE! BUT... There are not enough to buy out the several HUNDRED listings currently on the market. I used to be able to tell you EVERY listing on the market & was familiar with everything in my area in the MLS. Not anymore! I can't keep track.

If your listing your house for sale,, my one key piece of advice in this crazy market is PRICE IT RIGHT!!!!!! Get a good real estate agent who will TELL YOU THE TRUTH about what your house is worth, not just want you want to hear about how much your house is worth. Too many sellers make that mistake. Do you want to brag about how much your house is listed for? Or do you want to brag about how quick you sold it for and what a good real estate agent you had?

How will it feel to have your house on the market for a year & then have a friend say, "Hey, what's up with your house still on the market?"... and you've got to say "Hey, It's not my Fault, Nothing's Selling"

LS