Finding REO's

i have been looking for foreclosures on bank websites, and it seems that very few are listed. Should I be calling the bank directly? I know there are more listings, I am just trying to figure out where and how to access them.

ideas?

There REOs where I live (houston) are on the MLS.

Try http://www.realestate-invest.com/REOwebsites.htm

the wheels of turn very slowly at the bank and their trustees office. i’ve had no luck whatsoever cracking that nut because they are constantly changing personnel.

i have had good luck forging relationships with local realtors who represent the various lending institutions. the best way to do this is to get their biggest POS sold for them and then you’re a hero. at least get a deal closed, build some credibility and stay in touch. if you call them once a week after you’ve built credibility, they’ll usually take your call and you can get some prelisting info at the very least. they may already have the address of a future listing but may not be able to list it just yet because they don’t have the price or the rest fo the paperwork hasn’t arrived. it will however usually have a lock box on it and they’ll usually let you go see it and present offers even though it isn’t listed.

The only way you will get to a bank REO division directly is if you represent a large investment group and are buying in bulk and even this is hard to do.

Almost all REO’s are listed with a Realtor and are put into MLS. However, my advice is to find out who the leading REO listing brokers in your area are and make good friends with them.

Another thing to realize is that REO’s are not always great deals when they are listed. You must realize that the bank is trying to maximize the selling price. Often the are in la la land for 90 to 120 days. Even then some of them still have not seen the light. They much prefer to sell to end users and shy away from investors. This is changing somewhat in areas where banks are acquiring more and more inventory.

Good luck with your offers and don’t be afraid to feel embarrassed about your initial offer. If you are not you offered too much.

marketingmaster, what’s the best way to make good friends with your local reo topgun?

Two ways have worked for me. First buy him lunch. The second is do some deals with him so that he gets paid. The second works better than the first.

If your looking for the topguns in your area I would suggest you go to www.reoredbook.com. This is a marketing site for realtor’s to advertise directly their services directly to banks, bankers, and/or asset managers. The agents pay a fee for this service therefore they are typically the heavy hitters and are serious about REO. These will be the agents conducted most of the BPO’s in your area if you’re into short sales etc. There are other sites like this if anyone is interested.

Let me know any other information you like to have regarding REO liquidation side of things from a banks perspective, I have several years working directly with them. Marketingmaster is correct, nearly all banks and asset managers liquidate REO through a Realtor. The only exceptions tend to be large bulk buyers of defaulted paper on wall street, etc.