First of all, you need to get REGISTERED with as many banks, asset management companies and financial institutions, that handle REO properties, as possible. You can download a FREE REO Registration List at REO Rockstars.com (all you need to do is subscribe. It is 100% FREE. No catches or gimmicks. Just some darn good, hardcore REO selling information.

Next, you need to start building relationships with specific Asset Managers, who handle properties on your state. How do you do this? There are many ways…..You can pick up the phone and CALL (Yeah…remember that old fashioned thing called a TELEPHONE that we used to use, before we learned how to hide behind email?). There are a few little “tricks” that you can use to always get to the right person, with ZERO resistance (even at Fannie Mae). I”ll discuss those in more detail, on one of the next REO Rockstars calls (Yep…another FREE REO coaching call that can make you boatloads of money). You can get a recommendation from another broker or asset manager (This is ALSO very easy if you know how to speak the language. There are a few “trick” phrases, that when uttered, can get your competitors and clients to eagerly jump in and help you out (Again, another topic for another call). But even not knowing the exact words, you can still ASK for help. Or maybe you just pick your butt up and fly out to actually meet the Asset Managers IN PERSON. Bottom line is, you can’t be LAZY…Most brokers are. Most starve because of it.

Lastly, you should create a unique marketing piece and get it in the hands of the Asset Managers. Look, many REO broker “wanna-bees” come from the traditional side of real estate, where they had to do MARKETING to get business. So why do they think that they can just ABANDON marketing, when they want to get into the business of selling REO? YOU don’t…DO YOU? (Incidentally, I will be posting some solid Marketing Samples, from my own bag of tricks, for REO Rockstars subscribers in the coming weeks.)

As I preach all the time to agents and brokers that I coach, creating and maintaining MOMENTUM is the key to being a wildly successful REO broker selling bank owned properties. Taking the passive approach is the way most choose to go, because it’s easy and a hell of a lot less uncomfortable. Frankly, it’s virtual suicide in his business. Might as well curl up in a dark corner and die, if you don’t have the gumption to MAKE things happen for you today. Look around you at the carnage of washed up brokers, who just let this market swallow them up, instead of shifting into high gear with forward moving strategies.

THE DEADLY SIN THAT WILL PUT YOUR REO BUSINESS TO REST: Being a PEST!
Yep, being a pain in the a** will get you on the DNU list so quick, that you’ll disappear before you’re even a blip on the radar. There is a way to tactfully follow-up and position yourself as an eager and competent broker, who will move right to the front of the line for new assignments, and then there is a way to be looked at like a nagging mosquito, who the AM just wants to swat away. Be careful and use good sense. I’ll help you more with this as we move further into hot season.

To your success!

Mike Costigan

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Does this mean an END to REO is coming? Does it mean that we are going to see the REO world shrink drastically-NO WAY FOLKS! Here’s the raw truth….Banks simply do not have the capacity to process “shorts” at the moment. Nor do they have any real evidence that shows them as a long term solution. Much like the big “loan mod” craze (HAMP) that proved to be an outright failure, short sales come with a myriad of circumstances and anomalies, that will NOT allow them to be some sort of “one shoe fits all” fix for today’s housing bust. Just not possible. Frankly, it’s a big mess out there and there just ain’t no easy way across the river of debt bubba!

But TRY they will. And their efforts will (and already have) disrupt the ebb and flow of REO inventories. All year, we’ve been riding the wave of inventory to new heights, then seeing it crash to record lows. Will they ultimately find a big, world changing solution?-doubtful. But they will find little patches and band-aids for their ailments. Most will peel off and expose the old wounds after a few months of wear and tear. But these little speed bumps will surely impact inventories along the way. We as REO brokers simply must hike up our boot straps and do the best with what we’ve got. We must continue to build our relationships with asset mangers and banks. We must do SUPERIOR jobs, so that when levels get low, we are the brokers who get those REO listings. And we MUST strive to improve the overall climate of the REO world ourselves, within our own businesses. In my own personal REO business, our internal policy (which, incidentally is much like that of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) of putting occupants into good homes, without great expense after the sale, and selling at the highest reasonable prices, not only serves my community well, but it is good for the buyer and the client. THESE PRINCIPLES will always keep me in business, regardless of market shifts…No question about it.

Don’t stress about inventory fluctuation folks. Have an extra cup of coffee and carve out extra time each day to work on “momentum” strategies when things slow down. ALWAYS think about how you can build for tomorrow. DO NOT flip out about today’s lows. It kills your spirit. This is a 12-month business every year. Ride the waves and do a consistently excellent job. It all comes full circle in the end.

To your success!

Mike Costigan

Get posts like this delivered your Inbox and participate in REO broker training calls for FREE! Subscribe to REO Rockstars.

That being said, in case you DID miss the call last week, here’s a replay that you can listen to right now on your computer. Just click the link below, grab a pen and paper, and get ready to learn!

Click Here to Listen

***As always, if you have questions or comments, you may email me at mikecostigan@REORockstars.com . I will be happy to help you.

To Your Success!

Mike Costigan

In REO, you better be prepared to watch for the green light to flash and then slam that accelerator right to the floor, holding it there until there until your back is planted firmly against the back of the driver’s seat, to the point where you can’t even reach up and touch the dash! KEEP GOING now……..faster and faster…..and NEVER slow down!

Sound crazy? Well you better think again. Folks, in the REO business, you are only as good as “what have you done for me today?” There isn’t much loyalty to brokers who just aren’t overachieving every day and staying in good (not bothersome) contact with your clients. Contentment has no place in this game. Don’t ever let yourself be distracted by a smoothly flowing business or a month of great profits-get too lackadaisical in romancing your clients with good service and expressing a fierce desire for more, and they’ll drop you as quickly as Gatorade dropped Tiger Woods! A taste of sweet success can bat it’s sexy lashes and romance you into getting off course. Never give in to temptation. Keep the eyes straight ahead and no “fooling around”.

Frankly, the “momentum” principle is relevant in any business. Once you’ve got the ball rolling, you have got to learn to continuously push it faster and faster and keep it moving forward. Push with all of your might. REALLY sweat as you move closer to your goals. The faster you go, the easier maintaining momentum becomes. And there’s nothing more to it than keeping your focus. And once you understand HOW to focus, it become REALLY easy. In fact, there are 9 Special Momentum Building Techniques, that once mastered, can almost GUARANTEE that you’ll cruise along at lightning fast speed. Join me on our next REO Rockstars call (see below) and I’ll be covering these in great detail. On the list of important topics that I have ever covered in my coaching, this one ranks extremely high on the totem pole. For this reason, I am opening this call up to a larger than usual audience and it is going to be ABSOLUTELY FREE. There will be no charges-not even telephone long distance fees. It’s just good old, hardcore FREE REO training. I only do these every so often so be sure to join us. Details below.

Conference dial-in number: (866) 576-7975
Participant access code: 885267
Time: 1:00 EST on Thursday, April 22, 2010
WARNING: As usual. The call will be very crowded and “seats” are going to be limited to the first 147 people. Be PROMPT. It would stink to be #148…WOULDN’T IT?

P.S. As a special bonus, I will be revealing 1 BIG SHORTCUT to getting on board with THE most desired REO client in the country. Write the call-in number and access code down right now and DO NOT MISS THIS!

Just a reminder of some FREE REO training…

Our next FREE REO Rockstars call is Thursday, April 22, 2010 @ 1:00 PM EST. If you are wanting to get your REO sales up a notch VERY QUICKLY then get on this call. You DO want to join us and learn how to make MORE MONEY…Don’t You?! There is NO COST and of course, No-Obligation. It’s a “pitch free” call to get some momentum behind you and to help you fly past your competitors like Jimmie Johnson rounding the last corner towards the finish line!

I will teach you the Three Quick and Dirty Ways to Start Getting Business NOW!
…AND
The Single Biggest Time-Wasting Activity that most REO “coaches” are screwing you with!

WARNING: As usual. The call will be very crowded and “seats” are going to be limited to the first 147 people. Be PROMPT. It would stink to be #148…WOULDN’T IT?

Conference dial-in number: (866) 576-7975
Participant access code: 885267
Time: 1:00 EST on Thursday, April 22, 2010

P.S. As a special bonus, I will be revealing 1 BIG SHORTCUT to getting on board with THE most desired REO client in the country. Write the call-in number and access code down right now and DO NOT MISS THIS!

Our next FREE REO Rockstars call is Thursday, April 22, 2010 @ 1:00 PM EST. If you are wanting to get your REO sales up a notch VERY QUICKLY then get on this call. You DO want to join us and learn how to make MORE MONEY…Don’t You?! There is NO COST and of course, No-Obligation. It’s a “pitch free” call to get some momentum behind you and to help you fly past your competitors like Jimmie Johnson rounding the last corner towards the finish line!

I will teach you the Three Quick and Dirty Ways to Start Getting Business NOW!
…AND
The Single Biggest Time-Wasting Activity that most REO “coaches” are screwing you with!

WARNING: As usual. The call will be very crowded and “seats” are going to be limited to the first 147 people. Be PROMPT. It would stink to be #148…WOULDN’T IT?

Conference dial-in number: (866) 576-7975
Participant access code: 885267
Time: 1:00 EST on Thursday, April 22, 2010

P.S. As a special bonus, I will be revealing 1 BIG SHORTCUT to getting on board with THE most desired REO client in the country. Write the call-in number and access code down right now and DO NOT MISS THIS!

What people really need to understand about real estate is that there isn’t necessarily any rhyme or reason as to the way the market behaves-especially these days. There are so many different factors that influence swings one way or another and it’s so easy to get caught up in them. My advice to REO buyers is to always keep your peripheral vision wide. Look around you, beside you, in front of you and behind you. Take a good hard gander at EXACTLY what’s happening in your area. Are homes selling? Are the prices lower today than the last 90 days? Have the prices risen? Do the local businesses have lines outside of them or are they eerily quiet like an old ghost town saloon with a row of empty bar stools? In other words, don’t pay attention to hype, media and especially politics. Just focus a wide vision on your narrow market. Pay attention to the factors that matter and make an informed decision on any purchase. Each deal stands alone, each town stands alone and each BUYER stands alone. If you can be disciplined, you can ALWAYS win in the real estate game.

So you see, the question; “What’s the deal with all the multiple offers?” is really silly and irrelevant. The question ought to be; “Is it smart for ME to buy THIS property right now, based on the IMPORTANT and RELEVANT factors “. NEVER pay attention to “frenzies” that represent the habits of others who may not be so diligent in considering their moves. Walk tall and THINK for yourself.

Get posts like this delivered your Inbox and participate in REO broker training calls for FREE! Subscribe to REO Rockstars.

You know, there always seems to be this “buzz” in the air that somehow REO brokers make it IMPOSSIBLE for “outside” brokers to get offers accepted on good homes. Many brokers, who write offer after offer, only to have them constantly rejected, believe that the listing agents just scoop up the best stuff before ever giving anyone else a chance. But are REO brokers so full of luck that they always have a nest of ready and willing buyers waiting to swarm in on the sweet stuff like a cloud of hungry bees? Not likely. So how does the hot stuff seem to disappear from the market as quickly as it materialized? Well, from an insider’s standpoint, I’ll tell you…

You see, many buyers, investors and their selling brokers know how to create their own “luck”. They work very hard to not only know what a good deal is the minute that they see it, so that they can pounce quickly. But more importantly, they work very hard to know HOW and WHERE to get a look at the hot new properties, before other buyers ever see them. This way, they almost always get the properties they seek, and even better, they avoid costly bidding wars, leaving the “slower” agents to battle it out and bid each other up on the “second choice” properties. So how do they do this? Like I said-HARD WORK! Every day these “smarter than the average agent” folks are on the phones calling REO listing brokers, like myself, and asking if we have properties in our “pre-listing” inventories, that would be a fit for their buyer(s). They’re asking to be put on the “list” of agents and foreclosure buyers, who want to be notified, the second we get an authorized list price from the bank. The are constantly checking in with us to see if we are about ready to list the desired properties, so that they can have their buyer (or themselves) ready and waiting to make their move when we call. They watch our websites to be sure that we don’t accidentally slip one on the market before notifying them. They also watch CLIENT websites (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FDIC websites are GREAT places to watch) like trained bloodhounds hunting their prey, always following the scent of that perfect opportunity and going in for the kill when it shows up. THIS is a VERY good way to get a jump on properties folks. MANY MANY MANY times, clients will place homes on their websites, with the names and phone numbers of the intended listing brokers, even BEFORE the listing broker knows the property is coming. Can you think of a better way to ensure that YOU get the first shot at a house, than actually informing a listing broker about his upcoming property and then telling him that you will sell or buy it the minute he gets it?! I can’t! Heck, I’d love you for it! Not only did you make my day but you’ll also be making me look like a hero to my client. Trust me, you and I will be BEST of friends and I will ALWAYS remember to look out for you when I see something good coming down the pipeline. There are so many different things that you can do to get an edge over your competitors when you are selling REO properties. I’m not going to give them all to you here. I’ll share more on REO Rockstars calls. For now, just do a little thinking. It’s really easy to stay a step ahead of your competitors when you put your mind to it.

So you see, the rantings of disgruntled agents and buyers who say it’s “impossible” to get an offer accepted on an REO or a bank owned home are really just silly, crybaby excuses and “woe is me” sobs for not doing their own due diligence. In fact, I’ll go ahead and say it, even knowing that I’ll take some blastings from folks who still don’t “get it”-You should be ASHAMED at yourself for taking the LAZY way out. Remember what I said about LUCK? If I may borrow a quote from Donald Trump here (who incidentally took it from Gary Player): “The harder you WORK, the more LUCK you create”. So, if you REALLY want to be the guy who is always able to get REO offers accepted, then start thinking outside the box and figure out how YOU can put yourself in the right places at the right time. It’s EASY to be amongst the mediocre majority. Being a winner takes smarts and HARD WORK!

To Your Success!

1. My team gets a BPO order (or we have a house that is vacant and we must provide a BPO in a specified time frame)

2. My Field Services Manager creates a “Field Report” sheet and hands it off to a field representative for completion, along with a daunting heap of other tasks to be completed the same day.

3. The field rep hits the streets, on a 8-10 hour “road trip”, rushing to get to all of his properties before the sun goes down.

4. The field rep turns his “Field Reports” in to the Field Services manager the following morning.

5. The Field Services Mgr. uploads the “Field Reports” and all associated photos, etc. for each property, on to our sever.

6. My Valuation Mgr. begins working on the BPOs.

So do you see a flaw in the process? An obviously kink in the system? a BIG time gap that’s sucking the productivity right out of my business? Think about it…it’s REALLY obvious. With this system I was totally bleeding out. I still can’t believe I was able to survive…

OK here it is (for those of you “slower” types) In our “system” above, we are waiting a FULL day before we even START working on the BPO! Many of my clients give me only 48-72 hours to get a BPO done. So, right out of the gate I’ve wasted a MINIMUM of 33% of my time. You’re sure not gonna win any horse races with THAT kind of start! Kinda reminds me of the good old days in real estate, 19 years ago, when we had to lug around a heavy “telephone directory” sized book full of real estate listings and black and white pictures. We had DOS based, painfully slow MLS systems and cell phones with 10 pound batteries in a bag! It was just plain hard to be get anything done fast. You literally had to cart around so much crap that you felt like you were “living” out of the trunk of your car (which incidentally was ALWAYS filled with paper files….FORGET trying to load up any luggage and escape for a deserved weekend vacation…no time and NO ROOM!) Point is…we have technology today. Get out of the dark ages and EMBRACE IT! Otherwise, you’ll be left in the dust. Business moves pretty fast. It’s VITAL that you keep up.

So here’s what I did to fix this and to IMMEDIATELY bump my efficiency by more than 33%:

With the help of my developer, Brent Guest, owner of BHG Digital, we simply created “online” field reports. I then gave my field representatives each their own portable “netbook” computers. With these tools, they simply log-in to my website right from the house they are inspecting, while they are out in the field. They proceed to complete their field reports on-line and then… “voila”-my Field Services Mgr. receives the information instantly via email in a nice, easy to read PDF format, and she uploads the information and pictures right to the server. Having the information delivered in “real time” eliminates the need for us to wait an extra day, to receive the information from our field reps, and we are now able to deliver our BPOs EARLY (which, by the way, is what Asset Managers REALLY want. A BIG point scorer) . A cool thing about these forms, is that you can install them on your field reps’ computers, or you can do like I do, and integrate them into a secure password protected area of you website, so that they can be accessed from any computer with internet access, and also so that you are never at risk of them being deleted or inadvertently modified. They are VERY easy to use either way.

Like many little “tweaks” you can make in your business, to make it run more efficiently, this one really CAN make you a lot more money. While you might know that most Asset Management companies have “scoring” systems that grade you based on your ability to complete REO tasks in a timely manner, do you also realize that many of them negatively ding your score for being “on time” vs. “early”? My REO Rockstars do! By using tools like these online forms, I always make sure that my team delivers EARLY every time and my AMs reward me with huge volumes of assignments every month. Now THAT’s what I call using leverage to bring more cash straight to your bottom line!

View Sample Forms Here -

• Initial Occupancy Field Report SAMPLE
• Monthly Inspection Report SAMPLE
• Repair Sheet SAMPLE
• Work Order SAMPLE

Want to get your own copy of the POWERFUL EFFICIENCY BOOSTING Online Field Report Forms, and AUTOMATICALLY make more money by working at high speed WITHOUT extra-effort? Click Here for a special arrangement I have made with Brent and BHG Digital, to let him distribute them to other REO brokers. (yeah yeah……YOU’RE WELCOME

Here’s Wade’s take on this one:
**************************************************

A real estate investor submitted the following hard money loan deal for consideration:

* Residential single family house, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, built in 2003, bank owned foreclosure (REO)
* After repaired value (ARV) = $65,000
* Estimated repairs = $5,000
* The real estate investor intends to offer $40,000

I don’t have to run the numbers to tell that this deal is too thin and that the real estate investor should offer a lot less on this REO property.

A quick check of the recent comparable sales (comps) in the MLS indicated that his estimated ARV (future market value) of $65,000 was a valid number. There are houses currently listed for sale in the $110k-$120k range, but the only properties that have sold in the past 6 months were foreclosures which brings the ARV down.

I assumed that it would take the real estate investor 6 months to turn the property around from the time he purchased the property, completed the renovations, found a buyer, and got the deal closed.

Estimated Sales Price

$65,000

Purchase Price

-$40,000

Rehab Costs

-$5,000

Loan Origination Fee

-$4,000

Closing Costs (buy)

-$1,500

Holding Costs (interest $42k @ 15%, $525 month x 6 m)

-$3,150

Holding Costs (taxes @ $1,700/yr, $142/m x 6 m)

-$852

Holding Costs (utilities, maintenance, yard, $50/m x 6 m)

-$300

RE Commission (sell, est 6%)

-$3,900

Closing Costs (sell, est)

-$2,500

Total Purchase, Rehab, Holding, Selling Costs

$61,202

Estimated Net Profit

$3,798

That’s a pretty skinny deal. The RE investor has no margin for error here and it’s a lot of time, money, and effort for very little profit and a lot of risk. Could the investor sell the house for more than $65k? Maybe, but in the absence of any recent comparable sales to justify a higher sales price, you can’t basis your analysis on the hope that you’ll get a higher sales price. Could the house sell in less than 6 months? Sure, but the average days on market (DOM) in the area is about 70 days, add in 2 to 4 weeks for the rehab, and 30 to 60 days for the buyer to get financing and you are at 4-5 months from start to finish.

The only way for this deal to make sense, is for the real estate investor to acquire the property at a much lower price. As the saying goes, “you make your money when you buy, you get paid when you sell”.
**************************************************
Well, I think Wade covers all the big points extremely well here. Hey, you’re getting’ it straight from the horses mouth so to speak! This is NOT brain surgery here. It’s about applying simple common sense decision making and putting a game plan in place. Simple formula. Winners will get it. Loser won’t. When you look at this guy above, I immediately think to myself “one big plumbing leak and this guy’s finished”. Then what happens? He defaults on the loan and Wade is stuck with it! Like I said, guys like Wade weren’t born yesterday. If you’re gonna buy foreclosures or sell foreclosures to investors and hope to be like my REO Rockstars, you REALLY need to be on your game. And if you’re just plain bad at math…One word: C A L C U L A T O R.

Just a very quick post to remind everyone that you will NOT get away with slacking on utility connections. I realize that this may seem to be a post with a very obvious meaning but I have to tell you that this is probably one of the biggest hangups that AMs have to deal with. I would roughly guesstimate that at least HALF…yeah HALF of the bank owned REO properties that I visit DO NOT have utilities activated. I also know with absolute certainty that almost ALL Master Listing Agreements contain a special section regarding broker responsibilities, specifically, ACTIVATING UTILITIES. I was reminded of this sore subject by an email received from a client today, that listed all of their bank owned homes in the state of GA that DID not have utilities on. The list was MASSIVE. What really amazes me even more than the size of the list, is the ignorance of REO brokers, who seem to think “they’ll never know”. Listen, if you think this way then you need a serious “checkup from the neck up”. You should look yourself in the mirror, grab a marker and write “LOSER” right across your forehead in deep blood red ink! Trust me, that’s exactly what you will eventually be when you get all of your assets pulled. And when you hit that DNU “Do Not Use” list…words spreads. The business of foreclosures is a VERY small world my friends. When I travel, I see so many AMs bouncing from one Asset Management company to another and believe me they are good “yappers”. You either get talked about as a hero or a zero.-Don’t let your self be the latter because you are lazy. And if you are not turning on utilities because you can’t afford to….DON’T TAKE THE LISTING. You are better off having a smaller inventory of properly serviced listings than getting all of your listings pulled because of your lack of proper servicing. There will be plenty of time to build your business on merit and staff up to handle the volume that you will be rewarded with. Good brokers are hard to find and when an AM sees you doing all the right things all the time and consistently making their job easier, you will be on the short list to receive tons of listings when you are ready. I can GUARANTEE that! So how exactly did this client “discover” the shortcoming with all of these listings? They are not receiving requests for reimbursements on any of these. No requests for repayment=no utilities on-duh! Please don’t think AMs are stupid. They are not. BS will be spotted a mile away. Heck, these guys didn’t even need to visit the properties to catch this garbage. REO is super task intensive and it carries a lot of responsibility. So you want to know how to get REO listings and how to keep getting them? Be properly staffed, systematized and accountable by inspecting REOs regularly and all will be well.

Remember, as a Millionaire Agent Academy subscriber, you get backstage access to the latest Real Estate and REO Millionaire Tips that I use everyday in my thriving business. (In just under 2 years I now am outpacing almost every REO broker I know and many have been in the business for 10+ years!)  You also get priority access to REO Rockstars training calls, a free bonus to you for being a Millionaire Agent Academy subscriber! Keep an eye out for call notifications in your inbox.

p.s. If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment right now to download Uncensored REO Secrets. It’s a short crash course guide that I have put together, with precise steps that you should immediately take, to begin making SERIOUS money selling foreclosures. It’s also a perfect compliment to the REO Rockstars calls and you can GET IT NOW for a special subscriber’s only price of only $3.97.

Millionaire members – I don’t think I have ever been so excited about revealing something in my entire career as a mentor! This one simple to implement system has literally made me more money than I have ever made in such a short period of time (and these are supposed to be the WORST of times!) And better yet, I am PERFECTLY positioned to completely DOMINATE my market as the retail side comes back, because of the momentum this system has created for me. It is so easy it’s almost scary. There’s no tearing down your current business to get it going either. You simply integrate a few of the Million Dollar Tricks and Under Wraps Tactics into what you are doing now and you are off and running. It’s like blinking an eye and waking up on a sunny white beach with silky white sand as far as you can see- your head cleared and TOTALLY free of worry…….aaahhhhh….a nice escape from the stressful times that most agents are dealing with every day.

Enough said….just watch the video and TAKE ACTION NOW! I am giving Millionaire Agent Academy Members like you a sneak preview of the system before I release it to other agents. I am rolling back the curtains today letting ALL Millionaire subscribers download UncensoredREOSecrets for only $3.97 and participate in REO Rockstars training calls for FREE.. DO NOT DELAY.

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