Elizabeth's Blog

Contact Manager, Relationship Marketing and REO Software (by an REO agent)

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:00:44 -0700

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

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

South Dartmouth - Ranch for sale $169,900 won't last

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:27:18 -0800

Elizabeth Silva | Re/Max Classic | 508.536.5007

32 Seminole Rd, Dartmouth, MA

3 Bedroom Ranch in South Dartmouth, 1 Car garage, nice sized yard. Needs TLC as reflected in price, but priced to sell!

3BR/1BA Single Family House

offered at $169,900

Year Built	1972
Sq Footage	1,008
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1 full, 0 partial
Floors	1
Parking	1 Car garage
Lot Size	16,398 sqft
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

see additional photos below

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Seller contact info:

Elizabeth Silva

Re/Max Classic

508.536.5007

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Nov 13, 2008, 9:17am PST

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

an REO agent contact to a Contractor/Vendor - What's it Worth?

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:18:31 -0700

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!

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Bank Owned Property Listings - Southeastern Massachusetts (Southcoast)

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:49:18 -0700

Team Silva's Bank Owned REO Listings:

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Hot Deal in Dartmouth! Fixer upper near Buttonwood Park!

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:30:10 -0700

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Are banks starting to "budge" with pricing?

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 22:31:30 -0700

Well, some people are starting to think so when they look at the selling prices of some homes lately. However, I think the market is just dropping quicker and people are noticing prices.

GONE are the days where we would barely see a home for under $200,000. It's common to see them for less! I see homes that sold for $200k or more that have foreclosed going for slightly over 100k. (Yikes)

It's scarey. Unfortunately none of us have a crystal ball where we can see just how bad it's going to get. At the time of this blog, I have 45 Active listings in MLS and another 18 Listings that are under contract. Yes, they are selling! But the prices we are seeing are staggering.

A 3-Family home I was personally viewing for a family member 2 years ago was listed at $309,900 at the time. It was common to see 3-familys priced at around the $299k mark & noone though twice about it, it was the price in the market at the time. That SAME house, was sold for $175,000 a few months ago, in pretty much the same condition it was in when i saw it a few years back.

Are bank starting to budge? Yes & No. They are trying to "price it right". It's been my experience that when a seller reviews the comps provided to them from the agent & decides on a price that fits & is competing with the other active listings... it WILL sell.

My advice to a buyer that really wants the home is: Make an offer. If it's reasonable, the bank will more than likely at least counter your offer if they feel it is still too low. Banks don't want to keep the house forever,, but they don't want to take a further hit (at least worse than most of them have already).

I know many look a them as "the big bad bank".. but many of these are owned by investors. put yourself in their shoes. Would you take an offer from a buyer who is offering you HALF of what the MARKET VALUE is? ... or would "budge" instead of waiting for a potentially higher offer? Chances are you'd take your chances & wait... It may take a month or 2 but another offer will come along. What's a "TEAR-DOWN" for one buyer is a palace for another...

Here's a story:

We had a contemporary colonial in a neighboring town that we listed. There was a burst pipe in the ciling that caused water damage to the living room & the ceiling had collapsed. Buyer's agents were outraged & felt the house was in horrible shape. It was a complete REHAB, some of them claimed. (*Sigh* ok, i get a lot of exagerations when gathering feedback sometimes, i guess because they think they are doing their buyer a favor.. thinking they can get me to maybe feel that it's priced wrong & get me to encourage the seller to take their low-ball offers? Hmmm... Nope. To make a long story short,, within just a few days of listing we had several offers.. and the house sold for $20,000 OVER asking price. you read right, no typo here. twenty-thousand over asking! Now remember, this is a tear down! We were getting offrs a hundred thousand or more UNDER asking!

Ok, back to "budging".... they are willing to "budge" and negotiate. But c'mon let's be reasonable, they're not going to GIVE you the house for Free. If your serious, we'll know it & we'll work with you. If your not, we'll know it & the seller knows it too.

Want me to elaborate? Ok.... If the ASKING price is $230,000 and your putting in an offer of $90.000 ummm.. chances are the seller is going to tell me that you can go fly a kite. Unfortunately I cannot tell you that in those exact terms (even though sometimes that's exactly what they say,, giggle..) I have to be professional & say "we're sorry to inform you the bank has rejected your offer, there is no counter offer at this time"... C'mon some of you out there have heard these EXACT words.. ;-) But seriously, this kind of offer won't be taken seriously. But, as you know all offers MUST be presented. & They will be, but i think everyone involved can see an obvious problem with this type of gap in offer VS list price.

Does this mean you can't offer considerably less & get the house? NO, I've seen it happen. just not often.

Happy house Hunting :-)

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

This week in REO... My Life as an REO agent Part Deux..

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:45:12 -0800

FRIGGIN 'EH!

Just when we thought we had seen it all.... My assistant entered an abandoned property with the locksmith & LO & BEHOLD there was an occupant (but not the kind you would expect!)

It was a freaking live alligator!

Lovely. What's next?

Anyway, there's a terrible stench coming from an occupied property. We're checking this one tomorrow & we hope to heck it's not another surprise. Occupant stopped calling us, neighbors havent seen him in a while, there's no footprints on the snow, his car in the driveway hasn't moved... and it smells awful funky.... Aye Carumba.

So I still get a lot of agents wanting to get into REO. I wish i could turn back time. Keep saying be careful what you with for, but i guess without experiencing it for yourself it's tough to think that what i'm saying could be possibly true. Someone offers you an REO lising... Run for the hills! No WAIT! I TAKE THAT BACK.. take it. It will lessen the burden on me. Take it, it will be good for you... HOOOO---HA HA HA HA!!!! (*Witches Laugh*)

My assistant has matured this week as an REO agent. She is blossoming into a full blown reo agent & has officially lost a few screws up there this week (as you will if you dabble in REO). The things we see and the people we encounter... it's just like no other job I've ever imagined. Sure, it's exciting & there's always something new. A challenge, right around the corner. But when your getting all of the above coming at you from ALL corners, working 12+ hour days 7 days a week, Stopping only to relieve your bladder while the headset is still strapped to your skull because of all the friggin co-brokes calling you with mental questions... you tend to spazz out a bit.

People who know me will have noticed a change,, My zodiac sign is Cancer. So i've always been the quiet, shy type (until you get to know me.. then you see how mental i really i am). But now people see the CLAWS. My crab claws seem to be out more & more lately. People love to push your buttons. And for no apparent reason.

What they say is true: You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar. (is that right?)

I get agents who call sweet as pie,, and no matter how mental or yes, stupid the questions is.. i try to be as helpful as possible. (most of the time, ok i'm human there are times when i'm about to blow a gasket and thats just not the time to be calling me.. lol)

Then you get these people who call you with something to prove (what I don't know). they make these demands and actually think that my response is going to "Yes, Ma'am or Sir, let me get right on that your highness" FAT CHANCE! Believe it or not I "DO" Actualy have a "Shit List". It's right next to my monitor.

I deal with so many agents, i'm afraid that they might treat me like shit & then i'll forget because so much time has passed. Well the list is there & next time you call 6 months later with a favor to ask of me trying to sweet talk me thinking I'd have forgotten, you can certainly go pound sand.

The nice ones who've gotten to know me are a pleasure to work with. They appreciate the fact that I'm a busy bee & they know that I "will" return their calls or emails as soon as humanly possible. I do get their questions answered and the real estate transaction will be as smooth as THEY allow it to be. So many make it so difficult and end up shooting themselves in the foot after because if you've read my prior blogs I AM NOT A SALESPERSON. I don't bullshit people, or tell them what they want to hear, or whatever, if i'm telling them something it's because it's the truth. Not because i'm trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

Here's a good one, I'm sure we've all heard: "We're in a multiple offer situation, Highest & Best is requested by the seller"

I get agents who think I'M BLUFFING!! Can you believe that? Trust me, i don't have time or patience to play those games. If i tell you that, i'm dead friggin serious. So go ahead, wait it out & tell your buyer that it's just a game. I've had many a buyer call me crying that their buyer agent did them some injustice or didn't ssubmit the offer they really wanted to submit so they didn't get the house... *Sigh* C'mon now. What can "I" possibly do for you. The deals done, cut your losses. Learn from your mistake & if your still putting an offer in on the next property with that same agent, then i guess they fooled you twice, eh?

So that's it for me today. Still want' to be an REO agent? Go work for one for a little while,, you'll get a taste of it real quick. From there you can decide whether you really want to enter the wild side. Lol. Good Night!

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Becoming an REO Agent...

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:13:32 -0800

I'll start with this: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR !!!!

REO is not for the faint of heart. You will deal with alot of heartbreaking stories. Not just from former homeowners going through the heartache of losing a home (some you will encounter are ok to deal with, some will try to verbally attack you personally.. doesn't matter that your just there to tell them exactly what they already know.. they need to yell at someone i guess).

Have a weak stomach? or a sensitive nose? -- get over it. Many of the homes you'll encounter may REAK and you'll have to deal with it at first. I giggle at some of the feedback I get from some other co-broke agents when they say the house smells badly (and this is AFTER we've cleaned it up as best we could). THEY SHOULD'VE SEEN IT FROM THE BEGINNING. They would have been off & running...

What? Vacation??? Time off?? DREAM ON!!!! I currently work a MINIMUM of 80 hours a week. NON-STOP! My assistants can attest to the fact that I often work straight through a 12-hour day stopping just to take a restroom break. I'm on the phone non-stop & even then co-brokes will bitch & moan that I don't return their calls fast enough. Why? THERE IS NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY... LITERALLY!!! Some may think this stuff falls in our laps & we're sitting on the couch kicking off our shoes while they are out showing our smelly, delapitated listings. NOT SO! We sweat bullets.. ALLL... DAY... LONG....... Ask An REO agent near you.. they'll tell ya I'm not putting you on!

You have to suck it up with your clients. When your bank client contacts you & nailing your A** to the wall over something that was NOT YOUR FAULT.. You have to GRIN & BEAR IT. THE CUSTOMER/CLIENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!! This will wear you down... take a jog around the block or walk it off. We're all up to our eyeballs in work & sometimes the Asset Managers need someone to yell at. They are stressed, your stressed & you can't yell back,, you have to deal with the situation at hand the best you can, overcome it & FIX THE PROBLEM for your client. In the end, you'll both be happy & smiling and all will be forgotten.

You have to deal with competition that will try to bring you down. What? Yea, you heard me. There are agents out there that will try to sabotage your listings, talk crap about you, cause problems with the listings, etc. What they don't know? We're professionals at this reo stuff already. We deal with that kind of crap their trying to throw at us all day long.. and people all over that go out & fix the issues. They think they are wasting my time.. but they are just giving my workers job security & something to do.

You WILL waste a HUGE amount of money. You'll need to waste a lot of money if you think your going to make any money. Let me give you a little small list on what you'll have to invest in, I repeat A SMALL list of what's actually involved: CELL PHONE; LOCKBOX; WEBSITE; LOCKS; CAMERAS; ASSISTANTS; SOFTWARE; POSTAGE, STAMPS, STAMPS & MORE STAMPS; LOTS & LOTS & LOTS OF INK, PAPER, AND FILE FOLDERS; FOR SALE SIGNS; COMPUTERS; oh and here's the kicker... you will HAVE to pay on ALL of your listings. WATER, ELECTRIC, GAS, TAXES, REPAIRS, REHABS, , LOCKSMITHS, AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF for each and every listing you have... and then HOPE & WAIT for the bank to pay you back. (unless they go bankrupt of course and then say a prayer).

Invest in a good headset,, you will LITERALLY be on the phone ALL DAY LONG and at the same time you will be at your computer emailing.
YOU WILL EAT, SLEEP AND BREATH REAL ESTATE.
No matter how much you work,, cobrokes will complain that they can never reach you. DONT YOU WORK FOR GOODNESS SAKE? This will irk you to no end especially when your still returning calls at 1am in the morning when the rest of your household is sound asleeep (and most likley most of the agents who are complaning about you)

So yea, yea, yea,, i got it & still want to be an reo agent. Oh did you think I was going to tell you how to do it?

Well, let's just say the answer is right in front of you. It's not that difficult to figure out. Common sense really. I started REO when I first started real estate. While everyone was focusing on other real estate acitivity, trying to get listings, etc. I was noticing the few REO agents that were out there & my curiousity got the best of me. I started doing research (didn't take much of it to get started) and I was off.... I did it at just the right time & here I am. Noone wanted to deal with REO a few years back,, and I'm sure the banks are remembering those few agents who did extend their real estate assistance at those times. But there is still time for you.. if you TRULY want to be an REO agent,, there is SO much information available online & if you just stop for a second & think of how you can possibly break into it,, the answer will come to you. It's not rocket science. Good Luck & Please do not contact me asking me for tips on how to break in. As you can see, I'm lucky I have a minute or two to write this blog & trust me I get several of these calls at least once a week. If I had $5 for every agent who called or email me for this info I could get out of real estate & retire. Do the research & you won't even need to ask another reo agent, you can get the answers online without ever having to pick up the phone.

OR, another way to do it (i get this from my mentor)... Go Work For an REO agent. I'm sure at this point both my assistants can go do REO without me.. BUT I CAN BET $$ That they would NOT want to. They know what I go through & I truly believe they would not wish that on their worst enemy. LOL!

Good Luck! :-)

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Luxury Homes in Foreclosure

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:44:33 -0800

Ok, it's getting a little scary now..

At first they were mostly the cheaper homes; small cottages with assessed values on the lower end of the scale or multi-unit homes that the landlords were not able to hold the mortgage on for one reason or another. Be-it non-paying tenants, or costly repairs, etc.

But lately, we've been getting REO properties that are of a different caliber. Higher end, mega-modulars, homes with large square footage. I guess now it's getting serious.

Right now, we have coming soon a Very Large Queen Anne Victorian with over 6700 square feet of living space. YES, you read right. That wasn't a typo. 10 Bedrooms, 3+ baths. Built in 1888 by John Tabor. Beautiful home. You'll be able to see it soon on our website.

Or another one with over 3,500 square feet of living space that the former mortgagor purchased for over $700k which we are now listing for sale at $472,000 (quickly went under agreement by the way).

I guess this is good for some current buyers that were hoping to be able to afford the home of their dreams but it was just slightly out of reach... With foreclosures & REO's being the way they are & the market decreasing the prices are now more easily within their reach.

I guess it's a little scary to see these types of homes in the mix now.. I'm used to seeing the run-down, "needing TLC" and rehab foreclosures & it's quite different when you see such gorgeous homes being lost to foreclosure. Not that it's any different for either of the former homeowners. Losing a home is never easy, but it does happen for many different reasons. It's devastating for one family, and yet gives a tremendous opportunity to another buyer. (and yes, some investors too I guess). Can we call this the "Circle of Real state"? I'm wondering how badly this this business will eventually wear me out ... It's not easy to see such a great loss and hear all of the horror stories we hear. Most people don't realize how difficult being an REO agent is.... But we'll keep that for another blog....

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

January 2008 REO Activity - On the Rise!

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:17:54 -0800

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!!!

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Where to find REO - Bank Owned Foreclosures

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:55:30 -0800

Visit our Website: www.BuyBankREO.com for our bank owned/foreclosures.

(For Bristol & Plymouth Counties) Massachusetts

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com

Nothing is Selling?

Elizabeth Silva (Re/Max Classic) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:47:02 -0800

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"

Liz Silva

Re/Max Classic, Team Silva & BuyBankREO

www.BuyBankREO.com