Admin

Help Wanted: A Realtor for REO properties, by Fannie Mae*

By
Real Estate Agent with Compass

Fannie Mae, one of the country's largest owners of REO (Real Estate Owned) aka, Foreclosed properties, seeks a Realtor to handle its massive portfolio of distressed properties.   The following qualities are required for consideration:

  • Never show a current picture of the property on the exterior.  It must be AT LEAST 2-5 years old.
  • Make sure you use the lowest quality camera, preferably the disposable type purchased at CVS or a similar store.
  • If you do take interior pictures (which we actually do not prefer) please make them as blurry and dark as possible and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, take more than 5 photos.
  • Make sure you leave most MLS fields blank when possible.  Specifically: the appliances, distance to public transportation, schools, property management contacts and numbers and any other fields that might actually make the property appealing to buyers.
  • It is very important that you always put the wrong number of bedrooms and or bathrooms   For example, if it is a 2 bedroom condo, please list it as a 1 bedroom.   This is essential to our goal of having properties sit on the market for months and never sell.
  • Always put the wrong condo fee and ameneties in those fields.  Ideally, make the fee higher than it really is and list as few ameneties as possible (see above goal statement). 
  • When an interested agent calls or emails you, tell them as little information as possible.  You must be confusing, contradictory and preferably rude (rudeness is a bonus).
  • The ability to never write a compelling description of the property in the MLS, make it as brief and uninteresting as possible, grammatical errors are a bonus.
  • Under no circumstances shall these properties be marketed in blogs, ads, virtual tours or videos.
  • No brochures or MLS printouts are to ever be put in the properties.

This position offers a guaranteed portfolio of at least 20 listings at a time, very competive commission rates (at least 6% total, often 7% total) and no requirement to ever show the property.

 

Please send your resume to:  reosfordays@fnm.rest.  A real estate license is required but please, no Brokers, GRI's or CRS's will be considered.

 

*Disclaimer: This is not an actual ad, rather a satirical look at the condition and presentation of some of these type of properties.  If you are currently an agent for Fannie Mae, please do not take offense, this is meant to be funny and not an accurate representation of all FM listings or agents.

Show All Comments Sort:
Juli Vosmik
Dominion Fine Properties - Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale/Cave Creek, AZ real estate 480-710-0739

Coral, you forgot one REALLY important role:  Don't be available by phone or email.  In fact, be sure you are able to write into your MLS listing DON"T CONTACT - WE WILL NOT ANSWER OUR PHONES.  Shame on you for being so remiss in stating a job requirement - LOL!!!!!!!!!

Here in the the Phoenix area, the largest FNMA REO agent got everyone of his listings pulled because that was in every one of his listings.  HOORAH!!!!!!

Jan 12, 2011 02:16 PM
William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired

Hi Coral, Sadly you have included almost everything that is typical of distressed property sales ( most of the REO agents I know of, obviously applied for and were accepted for employment) I think they must have revised the list and added the following * that under no circumstances do you ever return a call, no matter how many messages or e-mails are left, if the agent at the other end of the line has been licensed for more than a day.

 

Naturally I would have suggested this post for feature but that has already been done. How about If I give you a bigger star for an outstanding, very cleaver and entertaining post that though it is intended satire, it so mimics real life that it is uncanny. I came to you via Renee Burrow's re-blog of your post.

The Voice Of San Diego Real Estate |Gold Star

Jan 12, 2011 02:17 PM
Hal Hovey
VA & FHA home buyers, vacation homes, foreclosure homes - Oak Harbor, WA
Realtor - Oak Harbor Homes For Sale Whidbey Island

....And if the property is in good condition, make sure you don't put a lockbox on for at least a week.  We wouldn't want anyone to actually look at the property, they might make an offer, and who wants to have to deal with that hassle?

Jan 12, 2011 02:35 PM
Terrie Leighton
Ferrari-Lund Real Estate - Reno, NV
Reno Real Estate Agent ~ Selling Homes in Reno

Very funny Carol! Some days you just  have to laugh about the housing situation and how some people think it can be solved!

Jan 12, 2011 02:53 PM
Anonymous
Diane Beck, Missoula, Montana

It is so true,  I can not believe the quality of service (lack there of) that Fannie Mae tolerates on these properties.  There are so many agents with REO's in our market and they really don't have a clue.

Jan 12, 2011 03:58 PM
#66
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Coral, just so true, so much so that it's not really funny.  The banks continue to choose agents that will work on the cheap and be as much property managers as Realtors.  In order to keep up with their listing demands the marketing suffers and the prices they sell are even lower than it needs to be.  The banks are depressing the market and losing much more money than they are saving by choosing to market on the cheap.  Kind of like a FSBO or limited service agreement.

Jan 12, 2011 11:03 PM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

HA!  I love to start the day with a good laugh.

Jan 13, 2011 12:35 AM
Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Coldwell Banker Realty

Hysterical.  The unfortunate reality is that the REO owner has one objective - unload the inventory.  REOs are so labor intensive and profit margins so small that while the gross numbers look great on paper - the net tells a very different story.  One REO agent I know told me that while his GCI went up $250K year over year, his net GCI went DOWN $100K for the same period!!!

Jan 13, 2011 10:40 PM
Kathy Batterton
RE/MAX Infinity CDPE, E-PRO, GRI - Pace, FL
TeamWork makes the Dream Work!

Very funny....the best is, "we can't, won't talk to you..we are above that and just too busy..but fill out our forms with your life history online and we will let you show our properties...again, just don't call us, even to find out if any offers on table, or even to see if we received your offer".... 

We do have a couple of good ones locally though.

Jan 14, 2011 01:41 AM
Anonymous
John
This is brilliant!
Jan 14, 2011 07:04 AM
#71
Anonymous
Greg Vander Wel

So true!  Unfortunately by the time they make sense of the liquidations process.....the foreclosure crisis will be over!

Jan 15, 2011 05:34 AM
#72
Tamara Inzunza
Realty One Group Capital - Alexandria, VA
Close-In Alexandria and Arlington Living

Congrats on the feature Coral!  Great post.  Really makes you wonder why they select a higher calibre of agents.  The reputation of REO listing agents is pretty dismal.

Jan 15, 2011 02:12 PM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

You nailed it.  That's why I never put quantity over quality.  Many times REO Brokers expect us all to understand that they "have" to do business this way to make a living and make it all work.  I don't agree - if you can't do it all well, get some help!

Jan 16, 2011 09:25 AM
Susan Haughton
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

This is too, too funny...you really made me laugh.

Of course, I usually find humor with a ring of truth is the funniest of all and you nailed it.

Jan 16, 2011 12:26 PM
Susan McCall - - Compass Realty Solutions
Compass Realty Solutions - Portland, OR
Listing and Buyer's Agent

Reference comment #47 Christianne Gordon, where she advises reporting the deficiency listings to Fannie Mae. 

WARNING, this could get you in a LOT of trouble from a WHOLE BUNCH of people, including the ethics committee on the local board of realtors and the broker where this listing agent works.

I muddied the waters on this one a number of years ago and it was not pretty.  I figured, well, it is my taxpayer money too and I think that (___________) should know about this.  WRONG! 

I was the (bad) whistle blower and I am the one that took the heat for this one.  I ended up having to write a letter of apology and presenting it in person.  The listing broker blamed my valid complaints on his assistant (she was VERY young and pretty) and questioned me in detail about my accusations.

This was a number of years ago, so I don't know how (_________) would react to a complaint like this now.

My broker at the time said, "Susan, you never mess with another agent's income".  Makes me think twice about complaining again.

 

Jan 18, 2011 08:17 PM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Susan McCall - Wow you really did learn your lesson on that one didn't you?  I think the place to report that is the Board - but again some of it is not reportable but just bad marketing! 

I just drove out to a rural REO property to preview for a client.  I thought I knew where it was but I couldn't locate it precisely.  Found the mailbox but not the property.  No sign either so I drove back out where I could get reception.  I got two team members on the phone but no one could tell me anything so I sat by the side of the road and waited for a call back from the main agent.  Something told me to move on.  I didn't hear from anyone for the rest of the day.   That kind of stuff is routine with REO properties so it is maddening. 

Jan 19, 2011 04:10 AM
Anonymous
Susan McCall

Tni,

You are so good at getting to the point.  It definitely is a marketing problem.  This same agent, also a principal broker, is still representing the entity that I complained to.  But, at least there are photos now, whereas months later there were no photos.

I have good luck around here with Home Path (so far) agents and REO. I think it has do with all the recycling consciousness.  Tee hee.

Jan 19, 2011 07:22 AM
#78
Coral Gundlach
Compass - Arlington, VA
Real Lives. Not Just Real Estate.

Susan McCall - that's a good warning to hear, but it's discouraging because I have the same outlook that this is a tax payer entity and since it is our money they are wasting, it seems like I have a right to tell them.   It makes me feel quite powerless to hear that one can't complain about a bad agent handling government owned properties.  It seems different to me than complaining to a private seller about his agent's bad behavior.  But nonetheless, I won't do anything on this without my broker's say in it.   The intention of the blog was not to actually rat out any particular agent, but just to mock how poorly most of these listings that I've encountered have been handled.

 

Tni, exactly  - it is a marketing problem and I'd never dream of calling the seller of 123 Main St and telling him that his agent was doing a lousy job, that's a COE violation, but with Fannie, it seems different to me and I suppose it did to Susan, but I guess it's not.

Jan 19, 2011 10:18 AM
Tni LeBlanc, Realtor®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

I know it would be nice.  I agree and I feel the same way since you know it's tax payer dollars.  Funny that REOs get to break all the traditional rules but we are still bound by them.  Like countering a bunch of expired offers as "multiple" counter offers.  Personally, I think that is very misleading, and puts unfair pressure on buyers when in reality they may be the only buyer still interested in the property.  But they do it all the time.  That's one practice we as Realtors could root out, but REO agents don't typically stand up to their clients.  There are a lot of things we could do through our existing system for grievances to make things better for the consumers and for us.

Jan 19, 2011 11:28 AM
Phil Leng
Retired - Kirkland, WA
Phil Leng - Retired

Ahh Carol,

You hit a nerve!

Everyone wonders how agents can do such a poor job and still be given so many listings.

Those days are coming to an end. FNMA is now sending field inspectors to test the look and the presentation of their listings.

Phil

Jan 25, 2011 08:16 PM