REOMAC’s Newest Member

I cannot believe it’s been almost five years since my most recent blog post here on Foreclosure Exposure!  As any close watcher of the default industry will tell you, the REO business is a shadow of its former self in most parts of the country.  The volume just dried up and blew away, especially here…

Time to Get Some New REO Business

It’s November.  Time to take down the Halloween decorations gracing the front porch and get ready to turn the pumpkins into pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

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It’s also a couple of days after my brokerage’s E&O Insurance policy got renewed.  Every year, the old policy expires on October 31 and a new one is put into force.  So every year around this time, I update all my clients with the new E&O information, and then I go through all the various banks and outsourcers I’ve registered with to make sure that they have my updated information as well.

This is something I could have one of my assistants do, of course, but I choose to do it myself.  I remember when I was first trying to break into this business, I got a bit of advice from ol’ Frank Patrick @ the American Society of REO Specialists – actually, ASREOS did not yet actually exist at that point (it was just REO Renegades back then), but ’twas Frank that gave me the advice, and it was: this is where the money comes from, so it’s really something you want to make sure you do it right – so do it yourself.

It’s a pretty rote exercise, but the sad truth of the matter is, business is down.  The cupboards are looking pretty bare, not a lot of inventory kicking around in pre-marketing and I have sold just about every listing I had marketed.  I can think of few times when I’ve been looking at such a trough in the business – even when other brokers were complaining about their lack of inventory, I hadn’t really experienced it to any significant degree – until the past few months.

So now that my E&O policy is good for another year, it’s time to go through the list and make sure my profile is all up to date with the various companies I’ve registered with – I’ve got a little time on my hands, I’m going to put it productive use.

The chatter is all about the build-up of REO inventory, and how the dam is going to burst – but this chatter has been going on for a couple of years.  There’s not going to be a burst – there will be some surges in specific areas by specific institutions – I think the best anyone can hope for is to catch a swell with an old client or a new one and hope to ride the wave and turn it into a lasting relationship such that when the swell passes and it’s back to a slower trickle, the business stays with you as opposed to another agent looking to lap up that same trickle.

Speaking of which, my old friend Rick Sharga (OK, he’s not a friend – but I’ve seen him speak enough time it feels like we’re old pals) is saying he expects “several more years” of 1 million foreclosures annually. I expect the same – how can it be otherwise?  There are 6+ million homes nationwide in some stage of foreclosure – today.  Last I checked, the economy is still terrible, and the recent 2.5% increase in GDP last quarter is but a pinky in the dyke – and I expect they’ll revise that number downward in a month or two.  While the economy remains in the dump, as I expect it will for at least another couple of years, I don’t see any other scenario but that more properties get dumped into that foreclosure pipeline.

One last thing:  in the interests of getting more REO Business, I signed on to become a Giant of REO – and my REO Giants profile page has just been launched.  They sent me a box with ten or so Giants of REO Booklets – not sure what I’m supposed to do with them, but they sure look classy.  If you know anyone who needs a Giant of REO Broker, send ’em my way.  My team and I are ready to serve!

 

#1 REO Agent in Santa Cruz County 2010

I’m a forward-looking guy – that’s why I got into the REO business, after all – so I usually don’t spend too much time looking at what’s gone by.  In this case, though, I’m going to make a bit of an exception, since it happens to be kind of flattering for me.

At my brokerage’s holiday party last December, I was talking to Ruth Bates, one of my colleagues at Thunderbird Real Estate.  She told me something that kind of surprised me:  she had run the numbers, and I, Sebastian Frey, was the #1 REO Listing Agent in Santa Cruz county by unit volume for the year 2010.

Ruth was instrumental in getting my brokerage to run an advertisement in our local newspaper congratulating me and other Top Performers at Thunderbird.  Here is a copy of part of that advertisement;

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All I can say is, wow!  That’s an old picture of me!  🙂

I should say that I have not verified the claim that I am the #1 REO Agent in Santa Cruz county.  It wouldn’t surprise me, since I do work very hard and I do a tremendous amount of business here – but I have a lot of very good and also very busy competitors, so you shouldn’t be expecting me to rest on my laurels.

Looking forward to 2011 I hope to remain on top and grow my business further still.  I love a challenge, which is why I love the REO Business.

Wishing you all the best in the coming year!

REO Asset Management Companies are accepting new agents!

If you’re an aspiring REO agent – or if you’re a salty old REO guy from decades time forgot, it may be that you’re looking for some REO clients.  If you’re new to the REO business, you probably don’t have any REO clients, or maybe you just got a one-off because you did a BPO somewhere along the way.  And many seasoned REO brokers will tell you their volume is way down, and they’d love to have some new REO clients. It may be easier for the seasoned REO pro to get those new clients – but getting them is no sure bet for most of us out there.

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If you read around the internet where REO agents (and many more aspiring REO agents) hang out (think LinkedIn, AgentsOnline.net, and REOPro) , you’ll hear a common angst-ridden wail:  is it too late to get into the REO business?  I remember when I got into the REO business full-time back in 2007, a lot of folks were singing that same doleful tune – that maybe it was even then too late to make it in the REO game.

That was three years ago, and while it’s been a roller coaster of a ride for much of that, overall my business has grown and matured, acquiring new clients along the way.  I remember thinking back then that, at least in my local market, there was likely only to be an REO business for about 3 years.  In other words, if you’d asked me back then, I would have said I’d expect the business to be rolling up by late-2010 – right about now.

However, in that time, I think it’s become clear to pretty much everyone that the housing market – and, crucially, the economy as a whole – are in considerably worse health than most people thought, myself included.  What seems clear now is that we are at best half way through the REO extravaganza, but the likelihood seems to be strong that real estate will not resume meaningful appreciation any time soon, and that the low-, no-, and negative-equity positions many homeowners find themselves in and many more will soon find themselves in will continue to drive defaults and keep REO lisitngs coming on the market.

One thing’s for sure about the REO business:  it’s dynamic as all get-out.  Traditional real estate is sleepy by comparison to the REO world, where things move very quickly and it seems the only constant is that the whole industry is in a state of change.  Of particular interest for the aspiring REO agent, or the old pro looking to pick up some new clients, this means that many servicers and outsourcers lose and gain clients (lenders, investors) all the time.  As many a REO veteran will tell you, one client can provide a steady business for years, and then that client loses their servicing contract and with it the REO business – and the REO veteran can see the volume from that client drop to zero literally over night.

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His loss is another agent’s gain, though – those REOs will go somewhere, to another servicer or outsourcer.  And that servicer or outsourcer may not have a large or strong enough broker network in an area where those bad loans are concentrated, and in that way will all of a sudden will have need of a new REO agent.  Even though their web site probably says they aren’t accepting applications, they may be actively recruiting agents – perhaps from within their BPO provider network, or perhaps through a web site like REONetwork.com.

I know this happens all the time – and I’ve got proof!  Here it is: just today I was given an REO assignment for a company for which I have only heretofore done BPOs for. They’re a well-known player in the default servicing business, and I look forward to working with them on many REOs – but first I’ve got to work on hitting this one out of the park to hopefully begin cementing the relationship.

If you’re looking to jump on the REO bandwagon, fear not:  the ship hasn’t sailed – it’s still there at the dock, taking on fuel – or taking on water, depending on your perspective.  To be sure, it isn’t easy to break in and even harder to actually be successful at it with a stable client base – but it can be done, by those willing to pour on the time, energy, dollars, and effort.