I have been on the abuse side or REO Listing Agent Bashing for a couple of days now after my blog post, Do Buyers Think They are Getting Slick? Was featured on ActiveRain.
OK, there are a lot of good points there and some great conversation to help make things better. By the way, I have had several of my asset managers read through the blog and subsequent conversation that followed and the best I can get out of them at this point is something along the line of "interesting". We'll see what comes of that.
I also wrote another blog article that surprisingly tome did not receive very much attention, "REO LISTING AGENT OFFERS INSIDE SCOOP ON "HOW TO WRITE AN OFFER FOR A HEMET - SAN JACINTO CA BANK OWNED HOME FOR SALE"".
Well this article addresses both issues.
Lets talk about the CASH BUYERS I am seeing in the Hemet - San Jacinto CA area who want to buy an investment property while we are at the perceived bottom of the market.
Fair enough - the bank and I both love cash buyers. I got an offer in over the weekend that will close this month if we can get together on the contract. The difference really is very small.
Unfortunately, so is the price tag, so there is no room for an agent to try and make the deal happen with a portion of the commission - offer price is $55,000 on a $58,000 list price. Sounds good so far, right?
The home is sold AS-IS and in the MLS I emphasize that there will not be any financing offers accepted, due to its current condition.
The offer that came in asked for both a termite report (no mention of repairs) and a home warranty.
The counter did not address either of these issues. The buyer is upset as he feels entitled to a home warranty. I explain to the buyer's agent that a cash deal should be just that - no concessions. That's the way it has worked here in the Hemet - San Jacinto Valley for as long as I can remember. I say lower your price by $300 and counter back.
No, the buyer feels entitled. Not sure yet what the bank will do.
A GOOD REASON NOT TO PAY FOR A HOME WARRANTY
I have one bank (not this one) who refuses to pay for a home warranty, for any home. They are or the opinion that by facilitating and paying for a home warranty that the responsibility for the property condition could fall on them. They are also a bit paranoid about a home warranty company going out of business - then what do they do? Are they responsible to the new homeowner?
Not trying to debate these points, but just wanted to share what is going on behind the scene - just in case the REO Agent that you want to bash doesn't get back to you with any sort of explanation when your offer is rejected. Apparently REO Agents have been known to be difficult to communicate with.
I may have found an new niche here as the REO Listing agent that educates buyer agents to make things happen quickly and easily for all parties - if everyone just does things right. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer from the prospective of an experiences and successful REO Listing agent.
Hey there John....I think I would tend to agree with the (REO) banks in regards to the home warranty issue. It makes perfect sense in this letigious world we live in. Buyers probably WOULD find a loophole to make the bank responsible for after the fact repairs.
Just reduce your cash offer by the cost of the Home Warranty and close the deal. Cleanest way to do the deal.
Jean,
Thanks for the comments. No one wants to get sued - not the banks and certainly not me.
John
Robert,
I agree 100% and I believe that is the buyers agents responsibility to teach their clients how to structure the offer. Otherwise buyers have a sense of entitlement -cash or no cash, they want what they can get - so offer less and get the most you can.
John
Amiri,
Good to see you reading with I am sharing - please feel free to stop by anytime. I'm sure we will agree and disagree again in the future - but at least we keep the conversation alive.
John

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