Thank you for great info.

Have you heard of Absolute REO Solutions, Inc.?

What do you think about this company where they ask for $295.00 membership per year to be their REO Listing Agents or BPO AGents?

Will appreciate your feedback.

I was also contacted by them today.  Their program sounds good (they handle a lot of the jobs that are the less desirable parts of most REO agant's duties like cash-for-keys, utilities, etc.).  Are they too good to be true??  I'm also worried about the fact that I found numerous typographical errors on their website and that the guarantee only gets you a second year of potentially 0 listings if you receive 0 listings from them the first year.

Hi Tony and everyone,

First let me clarify something for everyone. www.pasreo.com (Wells Fargo ) is actually this web site:

www.LPS Asset Management Solutions.  One that you can probably hook up with is however Land America Default ( http://ladsvalues.landam.com ) and Residential Real Estate Review

(www.RRReview.com).  I will also add this. Land America Default pays regularly monthly.  Also, I agree, why should you pay a fee upfront when these companies a making money off you performing BPO's for them ( for their clients ), doesn't make sense to me.  Here is another website for those who like to look up soon to be foreclosed properties.  www.fidelityasap.com.  This is serviced by LPS, you will have to come up with a login and password, but you can actually get alot of info. on homes being forclosed in your area.  Just type in the state and zip code and potential foreclosure auction dates. This will also give you who the default company is that is handling the foreclosure.

Happy traveling everyone.

Assoc.Broker / Coleman Company Real Estate / Meridian, Idaho

Hello Lindsey,

You may want to contact BBB in the area these folks are located.  It's a start.  Also, I've found that in order to become a REO agent for most lending institutions, at minimum you should have BPO experience under your belt.  Each company is different on their requirements regarding how they want the BPO performed and completed.  The better the BPO and timeliness you can get them finished, the more likely it is eventually you'll be picked up by a lender or default servicing company to list these properties.

Hope this helps some of you,

Marianne / Assoc. Broker / Coleman Company Real Estate / Meridian, Idaho

To Whom It May Concern:

My opinion on this forum will be extremely biased as I am the Vendor Relations Manager for Absolute REO Solutions, Inc. and I profusely believe in our product and in the success of our partner agents along with us. I will try to answer some of the questions raised in this forum and also provide some additional information regarding what we do and what sets us apart from the competition.

Our team is comprised of professionals that have been in the mortgage, real estate and wholesale lending industries for an average of 15 years each. The owners ran one of the largest mortgage broker shops in Illinois and were consistently on the top 10 list of several of the Nations Largest Wholesale Lenders. Our Asset Managers are former Regional Managers and Account Executives from these very Mortgage Wholesale Lenders. As a result they have a wealth of personal connections in the industry with the lenders that remain as both wholesale lenders as well as servicers. In addition to that, through our association with the ICBA (Independent Community Bankers of America) we have access to their 5,000+ member base and are the only REO company endorsed by them. We will have a booth at their Convention in Orlando in March as well as one at the ABA convention in October. We provide lenders with a "one-stop-shop" solution to dealing with their defaulting loans. We offer the option to take the process over from day one, from the first default and start of negotiations with the mortgagors on behalf of the lender to try to find a workable modification plan. If that option does not work out then we try to Short Sell the property to minimize our lenders losses by not incurring additional interest losses as well as property tax losses and legal expenses. If all options fail, we continue on through the foreclosure process. We constantly inspect the properties to make sure that no economic or physical deterioration is taking place while the properties are in initial default or when they become bank owned assets. We have been operational in Illinois and have Banks, Institutional Investors and Private Investors that have handed over their portfolios for us to manage. Due to our contacts in the industry and our presence through their respective associations we have decided to expand out to more foreclosure prone areas and offer our services to a wider client base. Before doing that we have to ensure that we set up a good vendor list of Realtors ^TM, Preservation Companies and Attorneys that will be able to service our clients needs.

In most cases we try to retain the management portion of the transaction and leave the Realtors ^TM with what they do best... MARKETING AND SELLING THE PROPERTY. As a result, our vendors are able to market more properties in less time without focusing on the many ministerial acts involved in an REO transaction.

Some of the benefits that we provide to our vendors are the ability to post their listings on our website for wider exposure and a free advertising venue. In addition to that we try to give our vendors all the tools they could possibly need to grow their own business. We provide fully customizable forms that Realtors ^TM could use with their name and logo for the following tasks:

• REO forms, disclosures and contracts
• BPO forms for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans
• All contracts, explanations and disclosures for short sales
• All contracts, forms and explanations for loan modifications.

These are forms that have been prepared by our legal and marketing teams and are at your disposal at no additional cost.

For your $295 you are purchasing a "Lobbying" group of professionals from within the industry to "Lobby" the lenders on your behalf as well as the possibility to use the tools provided to you from the onset. Finally, as an added bonus, we send our vendors out a 1 GB Credit Card sized memory sticks which contains all the aforementioned forms that are accessible off-line and plenty of memory left to use for their own needs.

Should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me at 847-999-4346 or by email at aberg@absreo.com

Sincerely,

Anthony Berg

Vendor Relations Manager

Good evening Anthony,

I'm sure we all appreciate your comments regarding questions asked within this forum regarding your company.  As we all know, it takes capitol when starting a venture such as yours or any for that matter.  I think where the concern lies, is that all the well know REO/BPO companies don't charge a fee for any of the FREE services such as forms, advertising their listings,etc.  I am sure they are well compensated by the lender's currently utilizing their Default and REO management dept.  They do not require Realtor's to pay them a fee to provide them a much needed service in order to retain a reputable dependable relationship with their lenders.  We as Realtor's through our MLS systems also pay for Short Sale, REO addendums which we already pay for through our different associations. 

The bio you provided was very informational  regarding your company, but I believe until you have expanded your territory further than 2 states, you may have some difficulties acquiring more Realtor member.

I for one appreciated your response to this forum.  Cleared up alot of things. 

Ginger,

Look at the posting above yours... They have not been in business for two years... They just incorporated on July 25 of 2009. Also, if you look at the State of Illinois website for incorporations and see their ownder and look her up... She is an insurance agent with Farmers and she has only been there for about a year. Zero real estate experience. Zero lender connections. Purely a scam collecting the fees...

Ginger -

I have had excellent experience with REO Direct Partners and also REO Trans.  I did a lot of research before signing up as I have always done free REO listings and had so/so experience with them. 

The reason I signed up with REO Direct Partners is because they are local - I had visited their office and talked to their team.  I would not pay a lot of attention to this John character - I found his posts online with the same useless misleading information - he seems like an x-employee! - never any usefull information just ranting -

What I like about REO Direct Partners and REO Trans is that they were very "direct" and open and excellent customer service - which was important for me.  I did not want to call a call center in India or outside the country! - Call both and see how they are doing in your market area.  Talk to their team and see what they cover and dont cover - 

Ginger - Hope This Helps - Lisa, IL

It's actually very comforting reading everyone's input about Absolute REO.  I was also contacted by an Asset Manager named Steve.  In my initial conversation with the AM, he stated that there were no fees involved.  Once I completed my application and it was supposedly "approved", the AM calls to tell me that I'm a registered participant of AbsREO, once I make my payment ... what payment?

I initially had a very good feeling about this company.  Now that I've read everyone's input, I'm second guessing this company.  Anyone have any positive results with this company?

I am hearing a lot of the same information.  Only one person out of 13 has had a good experience with either of these companies.  I was contacted by REOdirect partners and given the same line.  Fill out our form and you may be asked to join our team.  Of course I was asked to join, I was paying to join.  This was not information given up front.  I would like to hear at least half of the experiences to be positive before I would fork over 295.00 out of my pocket up front for a hope of a listing or 10 over a year!

Does anyone have experience with National REO?  I was sent a blast of BPOs from them and need some idea of how they pay.

BPO Companies I do work for that pay well:

Clear Capital, MarkettoMarket, SecuredLendingServices, PVC Murcor, EmortgageSolutions, ValuationSupportServices

Received an email from Anthony Berg thru a Linked-In Group.   Anthony Berg asked me to fill out the application for ABSREO.   I then received a call from them and they asked me questions to see if I "qualified".  When I asked them if they had other agents in my area signed up he said yes.  He said that he used to live in California and remembered getting a speeding ticked in San Francisco on I-5. (which is about 50 miles from SF)   He mentioned that other agents in my area were in Stockton (2 hours away).  He obviously has never lived in the San Francisco area. 

Ann,

I apologize for the confusion, but I never spoke to you. You've been speaking to Mike Kolar and I personally have no knowledge of him ever living in San Francisco. I personally have visited San Fran. 3 times and absolutely love your city. The last time I was there was just this past Memorial Day. I've been fortunate enough to never have received a speeding ticket in your area.

Once again, sorry for the confusion.

I was solicited through Linked-In a few months back. I called and spoke to Steve, who is an apparent AM. Then followed up and spoke to Mike, the apparent area manager for CA. I got the same pitch, and really was not impressed, but signed up and paid in anyways. Three weeks later I received the credit card flash drive, with nothing more than links to their web site. No tools. No customizable docs.

So, what I did get out of the deal was just another $295 marketing expense to write off this tax season.

if you have been riped off you can file a report at rip off report. it might help others in the future.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/

Am I the only one that finds this exhausting? I feel like we have to be detectives as well as Realtors. This is more than a full time job so thanks to all of you who have decided to share what you know. I find myself loggin on to active rain more and more often before I make any business decisions regarding REO companies.

I was contacted by someone from Absoulte REO. Here's their guarantee:

 Per your request for your realtor.  While we cannot guarantee any timelines on when you will get a listing, know that we are working diligently on providing you with a listing as soon as one is available. Should nothing become available in your particular geographic location, we will continue renewing your membership without a fee until you do get work from us. None of us get paid until you are able to dispose of a listing and we all earn our commissions/management fees respectively.

Stephen D. Johnson Asset Manager AbsoluteREO Solutions, Inc. 

sjohnson@absreo.com

888-771-9222 x 102 

Hi Ann,

FYI, I never said I lived in San Francisco. I was born in Anaheim, then moved up to New Cuyama. Moved from New Cuyama when I was 7 to Chicago. When I was 12 my father passed away and my mother moved us back to Seattle where I graduated HS and Joined the Marines. While in the Marines, I was stationed in El Toro, outside of Irvine. While stationed there I made several trips home to Seattle, I did ALMOST get pulled over on I-5 or it possibly was the 101 as I took both routes many times. I appologize for any confusion.

Matt,

We are working on getting the work for you, as more banks come on board and as the Moratorium is lifted. We want to make sure that your $295 is more than just a tax write-off.

Mike Kolar

Absolute REO Solutions

Heads up folks.  You may want to think twice regarding performing BPO's for "EvaluationSolutions".

They do not pay on a regular basis, I have done them since July of this year to date and have yet to receive payment for any completed.

I was contacted by REOPartnersDirect, filled out their application and was "approved".  Then I was told about the $295 fee.  I really wanted this to be legit.  But if it looks and smells like a fish, it probably is one.  

was contacted by Mike Kolar from www.absreo.com, filled out their application and was "approved".  Then came the "fees", "memberships" and the "promisses".  I smelled a rip off... did some research about www.absreo.com on google - probably is one -

I have been doing some searching on both Reo Direct Partners, and AbsoluteREO Solutions. Their pitch sounds exactly the same. Their fee is almost the same as well. Both companies are based out of Illinois, and both companies are new this year.  I haven't heard anything positive about them yet. I do see them defending themselves quite a bit though. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

WAIT - my mistake - actually REO TRANS and REO DIRECT PARTNERS, thumbs up all the way. Excellent experience with both companies.  You gotta do your homework and check out zip codes like everywhere else - but I am pretty happy with those two companies - saw them mentioned above.  My trick is, I call a couple of times and try to talk to different reps at the same company and then compare their answers.

Never heard of ABSREO to answer the original question - but judging from the posts here - dont think I want to!

I was contacted by Mike from Absolute REO Solutions in June after I sent in my application. I thought that it was going to be a rip off, like some of the other start ups. However, they are with the BBB so I decided to take a chance, and if not, then yes, it is a tax write off. So far so good! 2 exterior BPO's, and 1 REO, they took care of the utilities. Sold in 27 days, and paid for itself. I am a believer.

Please note that I have been doing BPOs for the last year and one half.  I've had excellent experiences with most companies. However Olympus Management is NOT a company to work for, very haughty asset managers and a general lack of ethics in that forum.  Another company to be aware of is Evaluation Solutions.  I've done work for them for the last year and one half but always have to call to get paid and I usually have to call about three to four times.  They have always paid me, but they are poorly run and unprofessional and do not pay in the 30-45 day timeframe as indicated on the website.  There are some reputable companies out there, Clear Capital, Residential Real Estate Review, Pro-Teck, eMortgage Logic.  They are well run, professional and considerate of the hard work involved in doing BPO orders. 

As a Certified NABPOP member, I can tell you they are in the BPO/REO directory the NABPOP site.  However, I too was contacted by REO Direct, and I do understand the difficulties involved when trying to promote a new business and relationships, as we all do.  I did inquire if they could provide any references of current members and or lenders they currently do business with.  The answer NO, this was all confidential.  All I can say is do a Google search and research any company you are thinking of affiliating with, whether performing BPO's or signing up to become a REO agent.

I actually researched Evalution Solutions (evalonline) and found that the CEO of the company had a law suit filed against them from RRReview.  Evidently the CEO of eval. once worked for RRR and supposedly gleaned their largest client from RRR when he left the company.  Also, I would suggest caution if you sign up with eval., they're lag time for paying you to perform BPO's are extremely lenthy, sometimes up to 6 months or more before you're paid.  Trust me, I know from experience with them.

With the pending bankrupcy with Land America Financial ( not saying their asset dept. is part of the bankrupcy ), I think we'll be seeing more asset management companies developing in the near future.