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Is There an REO God?

Okay, those of you who know me well enough know that I'm usually little Miss Positive, but today has got me really irked (can I cuss like that on ActiveRain?!).

While I well realize that some of the bank repossession specialists have their hands full (I work on a team full of them), I also understand professionalism and common courtesy. I have been working in the real estate industry for near on 20 years. I have sold houses, cleaned, houses, sold title insurance, and, spent much of my adult life working behind the scenes at the California Association of Realtors (pretending like I knew what it was like in the trenches). Additionally, and besides actually selling houses, I am a proud to be an adjunct professor of real estate at the finest community college district in the state of California, and, as mentioned, I'm active selling houses.

So, why I'm I peeved? (opps, another naughty word!).

Here's why:

I show a house today. The buyer loves it. He wants to write an offer. On the spot. I tell him I would like to speak with the other agent first (something my mother taught me), and he says, "okay." So I go home and call the other agent only to hear a voice mail that says this:

"Thank you for calling. Because of the overwhelming number of calls, I am unable to respond to voicemail. Instead, please email me at creepyagent@whoknows.com." Can you believe this?! I've got a pre-approved buyer, ready to pay full price for this property (yes, REO, but still---full price on the market for 232 day!), and this guy can't even "allow" me to speak to him phone to phone.

I really never complain. I realize that people do what they need to do to get by day to day. I'm okay with that. However, in a service-oriented business like real estate---no matter what our role---we should strive to serve the client. If you represent asset managers (and I'm sorry if you do :-), and you have so many listings you can't handle the volume, God sakes, hire an assistant to take calls.

okay, thanks for letting me vent!

Tamara

Visit my blog at www.InLoveWithSacto.tv, Listen to my radio show at www.InLoveWithSacto.com

Posted by Tamara Dorris on 06/11/2009 08:52 PM

Comments (67)

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67 Comments on Is There an REO God?

JUN

You got much respect for folks who are in a position where they're so busy that they can control their business to a point where they don't have to talk on the phone :)

Wow.

Tamara,

It is frustrating and yes you can cuss like that! Only like that though. My office has a large foreclosure dept yet they do respond to voicemail and have numerous people to do it. What frustrates them are the agents calling every 30 minutes to see if their offer was accepted or just checking availability.

Your case is different and I'd wonder why the guy even has voicemail? Just to say he can't respond?

Good luck with it and it's good to have you back!

The last office I worked for was swamped with non stop calls "are there any offers on this property" that the admin was always on the phone and VM was backed up. There was a statement put on all the properties in the comments section "4 offers - submit highest and best" "no offers as of 3:15 PM" etc and no one ever read these and still called. Not trying to defend the agent but it slowed down the transaction process of getting the bids to the asset manager because the admin was always on the phone. They ended up having to hire a new person just for phones!

I AGREE with you. Answer the phone or call me back. If you have sooooooooo much work that you can't service them then let someone else have some of the business. How about the one "don't call if it is on the MLS as active then it is" only to find out they had an offer that was excepted 2 days before.

Thanks for letting me vent!!

Awe, sounds like you had a rough day. I'm sure we have all been in that situation, so you are definitely not alone. Sometimes, you have to give yourself a time out, because it is not worth getting worked up over. You would think that hiring an assitant is common sense...but actually, common sense is not that common. The sun will come out tomorrow...just smile. Good luck!

Tamara..that is my pet peeve too...I list REOs...and I am a small fry in my area.... these other agents who list a ton of them...can't answer their phones... drives me crazy....

Tamara - sorry it's so frustrating for you. As I tell my agents......sadly this is what we have to deal with in this current market. Not fun. Many agents are trying to service way too many reo listings with not enough assistants. Do the best you can......and know it's not going away anytime soon.

Wait a few years......this kind of behavior will go away.....and so will those type of agents.

Tamara, it seems that's becoming a common theme nowadays. I can easily communicate via email, but geez if I call and leave a message, please call me back. I seem to get that quite a bit these days. It makes you wonder if these agents really want to close a deal.

Chanda panda

Tamara,

What is the deal with that? I guess getting a yet another sale is mot appealing to him......or maybe his pores are oozing with money and he can't stand to have anymore at all. Go figure....

It is quite common with some of the REO agents in our area. Our team prides ourselves on setting ourselves apart in this regard.

Crazy ... now I have to say I get about 30-40 calls a day and I do try and get back to everyone all the time .. I rank them by need... and if I cant make the call I ahve a team that grabs a phone and starts dialing .. we get it you are our #1 job.

That is annoying- I am representing Buyers on two REO deals currently and they are awesome and very good with their communication- it is incredibly refreshing.

Tamara - I have had several posts like this lately with regard to REO transactions. The level of service is at a new all time low. Check out my REALLY??!?! series and you'll see what I mean on my blog.

Send the offer. If it is acceptable then you will get a call or email. It's what you have to do these days.

I always jump on this bandwagon. If you can't handle the calls, let other agents the listing. I am sure they will be happy to answer the phone.

Welcome to the REO world. I don't know many reo agents that do answer the phone. The ones that do are a godsend.

I guess I've sold so many REO's with the same people that I know what they want and they know I know what to do, however it is still frustrating when there's a sense of urgency and you cannot get a hold of anyone.

I will admit that I would rather get an email or text message than a phone call as those methods are far more productive.

But Lord we understand where you're coming from!

I'm a top producing REO Agent in my little neck of the woods... and YES I always answer my phone! Geez I love offers and closings :)

Karol

This is an crazy market and it is difficult on all involved.

I had a listing agent of an REO tell me that she had a full price offer, all cash -- and she represents the bank -- and they wouldn't get back to her! The property has sat for over 6 months . . . I think they should rename this site: Active Vent

:-)

Tamara, My working partner just went through a transaction where she had to deal with this scenario. They finally closed but I heard a lot of venting getting to the close. It is amazing that some agents think they are prima donas.

Sounds like this guy needs a "real estate therapist" to teach him some real estate etiquette!! ;) I'm sure when he sees your client wishes to offer full price, you will get a phone call!!

Tamera: This is pretty bad. I have not heard that type message, although I have has REO agents just simply not return the call

Hi Tamara -- I have run across this, but not to this extent. I wish there was a true 3rd party assessor of agent's true characteristics, like a J.D Powers but even better. I bet there would be a whole lot more people buying crackberries and returning phone calls.

I think it would even be okay if you said "peeved" in your email to creepyagent@whoknows.com LOL

I'm sorry for your frustrations and I'm not laughing at you or your situation, but it's better to laugh than to cry.

I think REOs are tough all the way around. So many REO agents are overwhelmed, and the result is frustration by other parties.

Tamara.....the good news is you have a featured post.!!!! The bad news is this kind of behavior won't be changing any time soon. I hear this again and again.....in my office and in meetings around Phoenix. I do believe the Brokers need to step in and make some changes and control the number of listings and/or the level of help each agent has to accomplish the task of so many reo listins. If that does not happen....not much will change, until the market shifts back. Honestly....it isn't working very well and most of us know that.

We can change this.......if we all work together positively.

Good for you for bringing up the problem one more time. It needs to be heard loud and clear.

Tamara, unfortunately, for some of these mega-REO agents, that is their standard method of operation. My philosophy is the same as yours: If you can't return calls within 2 hours, please hire an assistant! Customer service IS your job.

JUN

This is one of the biggest areas of concern for me also. We are a very large REO team as well and we pride ourselves on answering our phone calls and getting back to the agents very quickly. I believe if the asset managers really cared about how those agents were perceived, they would be gioving those listings to the other agents that produce and answer the phone.

Hey Tamara, I'm gonna need to give you lessons on cussing! LOL Agree this business can be extremely frustrating at times... Last week my wife wrote an "over asking price" offer on a property and after the agent avoided responding the listing was canceled and came back on at a much higher price!

Contact the lender that owns the property and let them know your experience... ;)

My mom is the VP of lending for a bank and when perturbed buyers call the bank directly because they can't get through to the agent that is supposed to be representing the bank... they will sell the property directly to the buyers and cut the listing agent out for lack of performance.

And if you are really nice... you might even become a listing agent for them.. ;)

BTW... The Realtor code of Ethics allows you to contact the seller directly if you ask the selling agent to provide information and they do not respond/comply.

The sad part about this is that the lender probably doesn't even realize (or care) that the level of service is so poor. Some of the REO agents in Las Vegas have websites set up where they update their inventory statuses. I've found those to be easy to work with.

Tamara...

I just keep saying to myself "What goes around comes around!"

Tamara,

There's a couple of those agents around here too. I just showed one two nights ago and the agent had the same words in the remarks section. He even added, don't leave a voice mail.

Thankfully, these agents are few and far between. Most of the REO agents are decent, hard working agents.

Rich

Tamara- It is good to vent your feelings and frustrations. Certainly having to email can be inconvenient- a sign of the times. Guess it itime to look into that Blackberry.

Why even have voice mail if you have a message like that on it? I guess listing the REOs has made some agents just plain lazy!

Haven't heard of that one but....we wrote an offer on one once and were sent back the instructions from the listing office:

1) Don't call us

2) We will call you when we know something

3) If you call us it will delay the transaction.

4) huh?

I hate to say it...nothing new to REO agents. Lenders are starting to get fed up with agents like that and started to weed them out. I know of 5 REO former REO agents who no longer receiving REO listings from lenders just due to that reason

God, and to think that there are enough REO listings to give all realtors here on AR 3-4 listings each. if the Banks would distribute those listings instead of having brokerages/agents who only do REO's, they would have gotten rid of that inventory a LONG time ago...

I work with Ocwen a lot and the best way to look at REO's (Real Estate Owned) is to first figure out what kind of agent they are.
Agent #1
Is not a very active REO agent has maybe 2-5 REO's and can answer the phone on the first ring.
Agent #2
Has about 2-5 new listings daily and you may never talk to them BUT the best part is you don't have to. Yes that's what I said you don't have to folks. I hate to say it but it's all about you. You have to prep your buyers for the world of bank owned and how to deal with agent # 2. Please don't leave yourself open to look foolish to your buyer use the below information and move on.

•1.       Buyer due diligence is mandatory make yourself familiar to the county records I have found this link to all the California county assessor's offices very useful . As well as any neighbor that will talk to my client.
•2.       If it is truly your highest and best submit it right away and just move on. Something like short sales.
•3.       Don't expect repose back unless you got the property.
•4.       If the property goes pending (you didn't get it) then it goes active again and you buyer is still there for havens sake make another offer!! Yes..... Your first offer is possibly in the trash get over it this is not about the first offer THIS is a all new offer if your buyer wants the house just do it. The best part is if you tell them ahead of time they will be prepared.
Ok rant over : ) Good luck

Wyh does the REO agent even have voicemail? I thought our job was to be trusted advisors who are focused on customer service. What type of service is this agent offering...

This is a recording, you got jobbed. I love virtual real estate, but there has to be a human somewhere.

"Because of the overwhelming number of blogs, I am unable to respond to this one. Instead, please email me at creepyloanofficer@whoknows.com."

HAHA! Sorry Tamara, I couldn't resist. Thanks for your post.

You should have left a message anyway that said, "Due to the overwhelming quantity of homes on the market, I regret to inform you that I had a full price offer for your listing at 123 Z Street from a pre-approved buyer; however due to your poor business management and customer service skills as witnessed via your outgoing message, we will have to place it on another one of the homes!" LOL At least it might have gotten you a return phone call! ;-)

Clark Howard on the radio, you know the guy who shows you how to save money, we are in an era of "customer no service". I couldn't agree more. After you get through with the sale. Call the Broker.

Tamara, I agree with you that agents need to be able to "speak" to each other when need be. It sounds like the other agent is screening his callers by email pretty bad. Not easy access for you with a willing buyer that you have.

HI Tamara~ Too bad you couldn't reach the listing agent, but DON"T let that stop you from turning in your buyer's offer! It could keep the from getting the house! I would have called right then and there from my cell and still wrote the offer according to the listings instructions. Relying on reaching a agent first is not important in the scheme of things. Hurry up and write it and turn it in!

We have a few agents here that are very similar - but send them a text and they respond pretty quickly... I dont mind texting - probably would rather not talk to them anyway just need the questions answered :) Try texting them...

[please email me at creepyagent@whoknows.com]

ROFL

Texting works for me too, but then again I always answer my phone or call right back. To me that is simply part of our job.

The REO agents of today are like the 'boom agents' of 2005. They better learn how to behave now because eventually the market will level out and they will have acquired no marketable skills nor valuable associates--but burned a lot of bridges.

Hi Tamara,

There are loads of poor customer service driven agents out there . . . just remeber you are one of the good ones and that you can make a big difference in this troubled marketplace . . . one client at a time.

Good luck and keep the faith!

Paul

Tamara ~ I do believe you can vent, cuss, or just get plain angry here on ActiveRain so no apologies necessary...especially when it comes to REO agents! We have two in our area that will do exactly the same thing...."send and email" or "fax all offers between 9 to 5" , "just leave a message and I will call if your offer is accepted"...

It is crazy. I have heard of agents who refuse to show properties that are listed by these agents! It is to much hassle and just plain rude on the part of the REO agent!

Well, I was going to add my two cents to the vent, but it's been covered!! It's pretty bad here in Phoenix. I want to give people the benefit of the doubt and sometimes it's just plain hard to do. I did a little post with two examples of what I've come across lately. I agree with some who have commented and said these agents need to share the listings with others, if they can't handle them. And some agents are just plain rude, rude, rude! They are getting multiple offers right now, but there will be a day when things are different and I'm thinking memories will be intact.

"I agree with some who have commented and said these agents need to share the listings with others, if they can't handle them."

I want to add that if you can't handle the calls or have to be nasty and rude, you have too many listings.

And if you would show realistic information about the listing in the MLS, that would go a long way toward keeping the call volume down.

With the multiple offer situation we have here and agent telling us they will not get back to us if our offer is not accepted because they have too many... How do you explain this to a client? I try to be diplomatic, but it's hard. Not every buyer is a big money investor.

OK, I'll really stop. :)

JUN

I have a buyer that is trying to purchase a home listed by FNMA in Maricopa for 119k. She has offered twice now: 137k. When the first offer was not accepted, it went active again days later (this time for $2,000 less than the previous listing). We are left scratching our heads about what happened. This is incredibly hard on my buyer (who is not an investor, just a Mom who is trying to re-locate her family from out of state). And from what I am hearing here on AR, even if her offer is accepted, since FNMA owns the property, she is in for even more brain damage getting the contract finalized if the offer is accepted. My client did call the listing agent at FNMA and asked for an explanation for this treatment before she made the second offer. I am embarassed to say what the agent on FNMA's side told her - lots of double talk and could not wait to get her off the phone. Her Realtor is so fustrated that he is staying under the radar screen. Not very flattering for our industry. It's disapointing that FannieMae is hiring agents that give them this kind of Public relations mess. By the way, she is well qualified and approved for 80% conventional financing no contingencies. I agree wth Sandy/Keller Williams, this must be a #2 agent.

JUN

The guys who have this much reo business aren't running a service based business but instead a factory of homes for sale. I guess that works for the banks, my sellers would fire me if I didn't return buyer agent calls!

I work tampa. Last three properties i called to schedule showings at for the same family got returned from 1. in Orlando, 2. North Carolina 3. New Jersey

i am sorry but how does somebody a couple of hours away, much less a couple of states away, know about a piece of real estate in my back yard

JUN

My favorite is when the listing agent states "All I do is list the property, you (selling agent) have to do everything else". A little assistance would be helpful since they do represent the the seller! I believe if you have a listing you service that listing.

I have also seen many times where the listing agent just comes and picks up their check after closing. What am I doing wrong? It takes alot of effort to get a closing to the table these days!

JUN

Finding a customer serviced oriented REO agent is a rare find indeed. Not sure how this disconnect happens but it's way to common.

JUN

Tamara - I have a post that's been in my head for far too long. I got to get it out soon. It's about REO/short sales. I had an offer in hand on a short sale. Took me three days to deliver it. Why? The agent wouldn't return my phone calls, his voicemail was usually full, and there was no email or fax number in his MLS profile. I googled him. Nothing. I finally called his broker. Guess what, his broker is him. I finally did get someone to answer my call to the "broker's office." I think the office was in his kitchen, because when the obviously frustrated woman answered the phone I could food cooking the background (I'm pretty deaf but I know the sound of something sizzling in a frying pan) and what sounded like 50 kids were having a grand old time. A baby was crying near the phone as well, so I can only guess that said baby was being held by mom as she answered the phone. I finally did get an email back that was a little terse and had a bit of "leave me alone" vibe to it. It contained a fax number at least. That was three months ago and I have never again spoken to that agent. By email or telephone. I have tried, but just can't get him to respond. Ridiculous.

I'd call this a "George Carlin" post. For those of us old enough (God,that just hurts to say) to remember George Carlin's comedy, he would make an observation that you thought only you knew about. And come to find out, most all of us share the same thing. There's so much wrong with the distressed market and this is a major factor. Personally, I have short sale listings, and obviously have buyers trying to purchase them. Unresponsive, arrogant, and ill-informed are all adjectives that describe a lot of these listing agents. And layering yourself with four or five assistants( median age: 24 yrs old), doesn't help in getting things done. Like Matt above, if I don't get some kind of communication, I go to the broker. If that agent runs a "mill", I filter out his name from any MLS searches. I do ask my buyers first. By now, most of them have heard the horror stories, and are happy to avoid those agents. I could go on and on here, but I won't.

Now let me play devil's advocate for a minute. I do have several short sales. And while I do my best to answer all agent calls personally(no assistants named Cheyenne, Dakota or Blocker here..and yes, those are real names I've heard), I could literally spend every moment answering the exact same questions over and over. Which leaves no time to actually work the file/offers. I use the agent comment section of the MLS to answer the most common questions.."available until otherwise indicated", "multiple offers in", "holding submitted offers per asset manager" and so on. Also, I do ask that agents email or text general questions. I can answer them almost immediately, a lot of times while speaking to another agent. The key here is for a listing agent to actually respond. And in kind for a selling agent to read those comments. Often, an agent won't even identify themselves on a voice mail as an agent, and then want to lobby their offer .

So there's both sides of a tarnished coin. The one bit of solice in all of this is that this market has another year or so left in it. Then these "mill" agents can go back to selling cars, vitamins or time shares. And Cheyenne,Dakota and Blocker can go back to jr. college and get that cosmotoogy degree that's been eluding them for so long.

JUN

great post Tamara! Yes I have had a similar situation. Sometimes I really could say a bad word about these answering machines, and their owner. i agree, there are times when we really need to talk to the agent, and cannot get them. I don't know the answer. They need to at least be professional, and be accessible to another agent. thanks for the blog!

JUN

Tamara; I totally agree with you and obviously you've hit a nerve as evidenced by the number of responses. I am a RE Rookie and if an agent is too busy to handle their business it would make common and PROFESSIONAL sense to spread the wealth and avoid negative relationships or burned bridges.

JUN

Not only is it frustrating when you want to make an offer. How about when you are organizing showing appointments and want to doublecheck availability. ACTIVE is NOT always Active anymore. I email most listing agents to request "if offers are in and/or are they in final stages of negotiations" prior to showing the home and getting my client's hopes up. About half of the inquiries get an answer.

Having been an escrow officer in my previous life - I can say that a few of these Creepy Agents (love that description) - behaved with the same lack of courtesy on other issues. The good ones (and there is One in particular here in Sacramento- who has a very high volume of REO's) ALWAYS gets back to you and even pick up the phone. It is appreciated.

For now.... I agree with some of the previous posts that the best we can do is prepare our client for that type of behavior.

Thank you for sharing

Hi Cathy,

So you are in sacto too! Then you know we have some great ones and a few not so great ones!

thans for commenting!

Tamara

JUL

Tamara, What you described is the standard in my area. The only exception is if the listing agent only has one or two listings. Shame on the banks for assigning hundreds of listings to one agent and thinking they are being well served. The climate of the market we are in is bringing out the best in us - isn't it? (lol) I am sorry that happened to you.

JUL

I mean no disrespect but a lot of the REO agents do behave like they are Gods, heck even God would answer your prayer !! You can submit a million offers to them but the Lord forbid if they will even acknowledge you sent in an offer.. talking to them before writing- pipe dream !

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