I find that many REO agents have one trait in common...they are proud beasts with little time for the rest of us, you know...those who are bringing them the business.
Ok....now for the disclaimer..."not all REO agents, I've worked with many who are very, very good at what they do and easy to work with." Whew....glad I got that out.
So....on with my post!
I'm talking about those who have the air of superiority in their voices when we call with....oh that's right, an OFFER.
If the property is in decent shape and priced correctly, no problem. We can move forward. But often in my market I find the homes have been priced too high. I wonder if that's how the agent got the listing in the first place...they offered the moon. Well, my buyer is not going to pay for the moon. At least not on my watch. So the problems begin.
I've had a hard time understanding why the REO agent has not seen the same comps I have, and why the attitude when I point it out. Especially the hostility when I bring a decent offer on a property which has sat for over a month....asset managers don't like that. This past week, I overcame one of these situations and learned something in the process....it's critical to understand the position of the REO agent in order to get a deal done.
They have presented themselves to the bank as the professional, the expert. They understand this market and they know what the home should sell for. So...when a lowly buyer's agent bring in a lower offer price....they have to push back. What are they going to do? Call the asset manager and let them know they were wrong? they over-priced the home? that the number the bank has is 10% too high? Ooooh..they don't want to make that call.
In my case...this was the situation. The price was about 7% too high, and in this case that was a lot of money to my buyers. But I knew that this agent had not had any price reductions in the 38 days it was on the market. I made a phone call to him and the response was "well, I'm sure you would agree that the price is fair so if it's too expensive for your buyers (subtle put-down there) then perhaps they need to consider another property." Ok....that told me all I needed to know.
So I thought about it...and realized this agent had probably dug in his heels. So it became about saving face. My buyers really did want the home....and were willing to overpay a bit, but not the 7% it was. So I recommended that we ask for 3% in closing costs and a few of the normally split fees to be paid by the seller and then come very close to the list price.
Success!!! Ironically, the net proceeds for the bank were less than if we had gone in with the original price that I spoke to the agent about. :)
What was different? We did not challenge the price the agent had promised the bank he could sell it for. Creativity allowed him to stay proud and we got the home into escrow.
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