Jeanean- I am not sure I quite understand what this company does. They give you leads for short sales? And then, what do they get out of it?

Katerina, I should have provided a better context. I will go back and edit the post. They are a negotiation company for short sales. They also provide you leads for your area. You contract with them for a certain area and you will be the only servicing agent in that area. You take the listing, the financial package from the seller, do the BPO and get the strongest offer. Once you have all of the above, you then submit to BGS3 and they negotiate the short sale. We were told they had a 90% success rate and that they bring national relationships with the lenders to the table. They make their money by taking the listing at 7%, guaranteeing the agents a 5% commission. Anything they negotiate over the 5% is their profit margin. They also encourage when possible a buyer's discount fee of 1% which you can offset as a seller's concession. It's a wash for the buyer but does show up on the Buyer HUD. It's all above board and visible in the paperwork. Lenders can plainly see in all the addendi.

I am just wondering why we don't have more people that can talk about working with this company and the results of doing so. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

we just got an offer on a short sale

I too am looking for a company who can do the negotiation quickly and close the deal faster than I can by myself

If anyone has info on a comapy that has a proven track record, please let me know.

thanks

JM

I too have 3 escrows with BGS3.  I have been able to genterate 3 listings off of their system.  Unfortunately, I am having the same issues as you.  I currently have 3 escrows.  One of them had the BPOs completed over a month ago.   I like the premise of the company, but their negotiating and followup skills are lacking.

We have 4 escrows that they are working on.  Not only are they extremely slow, but their negotiator told me that she "spends most of the time trying to negotiate their fees" instead of trying to close the transaction.  I have 1 of those properties which is going to Trustee's Sale this week.  Still waiting to hear back from BGS3.

I have been with BGS3 for four months now, and I now have 64 listings! I average between 5 and 6 closings per month! Jeanean, I don't know what you did wrong, but it sure is working for me! Maybe you need to take the time to learn the process on your end first. I struggled at first until I learned how a short sale transaction works. Others have had problems holding on to buyers throughout the process, but I found they simply don't know how to pre-qualify and structure their contracts. I have to be honest I was skeptical of BGS3 in the beginning, but now I have formed a very powerful business relationship with them. It's simple really. I get the listings and they handle everything else from start to finish. How much better can it be? I get the listings, and they call me shortly after with the approval letters. I am well on my way to a six figure income just from short sales alone! I strongly urge anyone who is skeptical about BGS3 to give it a try. I'm sure BGS3 isn't for everyone, but it sure has worked for me.

Anonymous

Duh....wonder who this is? We have extensive experience in short sales. We took training early on and only wanted to strengthen our ability to help sellers and the market. We have a 90% close rate. If you have so much success, please share it with us all by at least making your identify visible. Blogging is about transparency and the values that go along with that concept. Making a comment without your ientify is of little value and holds no credibility.

I'm Jeremy Bowman, co-founder of BGS3.  

Tom, I sure would love to know the name of the negotiator that told you that most of their time is spent negotiating our fees.  That is as false as it gets.  I am not saying you weren't told that, but I would sure like to know who did it.  We never slow up a file because of our fees.  In fact, we have allowed our fees to be eliminated on numerous occasions to close the deal for the realtor and the homeowner.

G, have you ever worked short sales on your own?  How long did it take you to get just one deal done?  Short sales require lots of man hours, mainly because of the incredible inefficiencies of the banks.  They are, in almost every case, horribly managed and overwhelmingly backed up!  In some ways, we are at their mercy.  We are taking measures to change that for us.  For example, I will be flying to LA in the next 2-4 weeks to speak directly to the President of loss mitigation for Countrywide.  One of their executives, third from the top, is championing our cause.  I anticipate drastic changes to their attentiveness to our files following our visit. Other banks are to follow.  Be patient, it sounds like you are well on your way.  They key to 6-figure income and consistent monthly closings is massively filling your pipeline of listings (that includes getting short-sale listings in other ways than just our leads), not toe-dipping with just a few files.

Anonymous, thanks for your ardent defense of BGS3.  You are working the system exactly how it should be worked!  I do agree with Jeanean though, posting as anonymous makes it appear as if someone here at BGS3 posted that.  I think the system defaults to anonymous if you don't log in.   

Jeanean, the reason some or even many realtors haven't heard of us yet is because we only began scaling our model nationwide within the last 6-9 months.  As with any company that grows quickly, we have experienced some growing pains.  But in spite of those, realtors who are hardworking and have a reasonable, patient, and understanding approach to short sales and their partnership with BGS3 are getting plenty of listings and closings...and we are getting stronger every day.  As you know, you are about to have your first closing and with that closing alone, you will make more money than all you have invested with BGS3...and you have more closings coming.

I appreciate hearing each of your comments.  Feel free to call me at BGS3 anytime if you have any questions or need anything resolved. BGS3 has the best short-sale system for realtors that I am aware of...but it still requires realtors who can MAKE the system work.  If you sit back and put the system more on trial than you put yourself on trial, your results will be meager and you'll have a tendency to blame us or something or someone else for your lack of success.  If you immerse yourself into it and MAKE it work, you'll be swimming in commissions, like "anonymous" (who I hope will at least somewhat reveal himself).

Best of luck to each of you!

Jeremy Bowman

BGS3

Jeremy,

This is called "hijacking". This is my blog and my post. You don't address the comments made here on this post. The way it works here within ActiveRain is that you write posts on YOUR BLOG and get comments and so does everyone else. As a courtesey to you, I am not going to delete your comment. In the long run it is helpful for you to answer these questions. However, I would appreciate it going forward if you did not come onto my blog and various posts and "hijack". Thank you.

And as to the above, I don't buy it. 6-9 months....nope. Not when you have Google Juice all over the place about this new company. References....nope don't buy it. Anyone doing business should provide references. You are NOT delivering on the features of the product you are selling.....end of story. Even now we don't get updates. You have not rescued anything with this commentary. Anonymous....get real!

Oh, and Jeremy....I started working our short sales again and guess what....I already have 1 approval and a BPO order on a second short sale. Guess how long? Two weeks! The three escrows we have working with you.....are going on 4 months and still not closed. You have more problems than you can solve here in this post!

I've been with BGS3 for about 5 months.  I didn't sign up with BGS3 until after my husband and I drove to Louisville to see their operation.   Their operation was clean and organized and everyone seemed very busy.   I met with them for about a half a day and ended up meeting a local realtor there that had had a lot of success on their system and since, she has helped mentor me a lot.  At first we had some challenges we had to work out with BGS3 (mainly communication).  They addressed our intitial concerns and now it seems the communication keeps getting better for us. It took 3 months to close our first transaction (which made it a little nerve racking), but right after that we closed one in 2 weeks, which I know is very unusual.  Since then, they're typically taking about 2 months once I get a contract. My overall experience with BGS3 has been positive.  I now have changed my whole business model to focus exclusively on short sales.

Kimberly

Jeanean,

My experience is totally different than yours.   My experience is that these guys are committed partners, their honest, and they are constantly making their system better – I know, I’ve been through much of their growing pains.

Here’s my story with BGS3:

I’ve been a Certified Program Representative in Southwest Florida for BGS3 since October of last year. I have to admit that because my real estate business had been suffering so badly, I was very skeptical paying anyone anything, and I almost made the decision not to partner with them.

It is my pleasure to say that I am now thriving again as a real estate professional. My goal is a listing a day. I currently have almost 80 files that BGS3 is negotiating for me.  I can’t imagine trying to negotiate all them myself.  I just had 7 closings, and I have a whole stack of approvals that are getting ready to close.   In the past two months, I’ve made about $50,000.   Not only that, but because of  BGS3’s rebate program, BGS3 has credited my credit card 100% of what I paid in, making all their services free for me!!  No company is perfect and neither is BGS3.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

1.    BGS3’s system works IF you make it work.  I do not rely on them for my success, but I leverage their services to facilitate my success.  That approach has worked well for me
2.    The best way to work their system is to massively fill the pipeline, especially at the beginning.  I did not close my first deal till I had been on the system for 4 months, but because I filled my pipeline; my closings are now rolling in regularly.
3.    Do NOT rely on their leads for your sole business.  I get plenty of listings from their leads, but I get tons of listings off leveraging their leads for referrals and marketing myself as the “short sale” Realtor in my area.

One thing that I do need to say is that even though I have wanted to shorten the time frame that I can guarantee my buyers, the reality is that currently most deals take 2-3 months to close.  Some have taken longer, some shorter.  Believe me though; I’ve lost my fair share of buyers.  However, there are some big changes that are taking place right now that are shortening the gap. I have just made it a matter of practice to set the proper expectations for the buyer. Another thing I have learned is that if someone isn’t making it work for them it has to be because their own system isn’t set up properly. BGS3 is doing their part, and it is working for me, despite delays on some files. I have an exceptional negotiator at BGS3 named Melissa who is the star in my back pocket right now.

As the real estate market has gone through some turbulence, the banks have lost their identity, and have been scrambling to adjust.  I know that if I would have chosen to try and find all the chinks in the armor of BGS3, I would not be partnered currently, and I wouldn’t be having all the closings I am now.  

Optimistically,

Jason Hannan
Keller Williams
Southwest Florida

A short sale is when the lender allows a property to be sold for less than the amount owed on a mortgage and takes a loss.  You can deal directly with lenders and investors; you don't need these folks.  Save the money.  In addition to that, BGS3 doesn't have a very good reputation from what I hear.

Benjamin F.

San Diego, California

I am considering working with BGS3 but have my reservations.  Do you think these guys are honest? 

Burt, you need to search for BGS3 in the blogs search capability and read all the comments on BGS3. You will have to make your decision based on what people have written about them and their own comments. There are a total of four posts....I believe. It did not turn out well for us. We lost $3000 and only had one escrow close. We never received the rebate that they promise on the Buyer 1% point. The other went to forclosure and they didn't even tell us until after it had sold. I don't think that speaks well of the communication and visibility they say they offer. We never had visibility or communication on the level they advertise. The second lien holder on the home that went to foreclosure called me for information because BGS3 would not return his calls. He commented that he always had to call them to get them to work the file. They would never call him. Not exactly what one would expect from the negotiation company. Do the work and research all the posts and read both sides before you make a decision.

Can you say RIP OFF?

They are a rip off.  i just took a scolding from their sales representative as to why I don't sign up with them.  That convinced me, didn't it?

Can you say RIP OFF?

They are a rip off.  i just took a scolding from their sales representative as to why I don't sign up with them.  That convinced me, didn't it?

I myself have heard a lot of negative stuf about BGS3 months ago and, the comments on this blog seem to justify not doing business with them.

With that being said, I am doing business with a company called Titanium Solutions. I have had a great experience, so far. I have been with them for almost a month and they work similarly as BGS3 but, apparently they got thier stuff together.

I didn't realize BGS3's headquarters were in Louisville and I wonder if they would be willing to allow me to go up and tour their HQ and see how things work there.....??

Anyways, just wanted to add my 2 cents.

Forget seeing their location - the problem with them is the people.  I don't care if they work out of a basement - that is if they are ethical and can produce strong results.  They are neither ethical nor do they produce results.  Instead - you pay them to be both of those things!

Jeanean -

I dont know the politics and what is right and wrong manners on blogging, however, I thougth it was good the Jeremy had a platform to address the concerns people are posting about BGS3 - I, too, have worked with them for the past 3 months and feel they have given me some good marketing strategies and we have some listings from these efforts. They have not been responsive as I have requested to expand my program but have not gotten return calls or e-mails.

I would love for Jeremy to e-mail me to discuss this further, if its not appropriate to discuss it here. With any relationship, it takes time to get it to a great level, especially with short sales and getting used to how they process these.

I am cancelling my membership with them because of the lack of responsiveness to my requests. I personally need more dialogue and partnership to get to 30+ listings -

Bob

Wow! Harsh comments for my competitor. That's why I prefer to stay lean and mean. Rapid growth can be painful. Good luck to everyone :)