Cannot say I've done much with REO's but funny article. Could be some regular agents I've delt with, maybe former REO agents... ;)

I love this, it does hit the nail on so many heads, thanks for sharing

What ever stops will restart again, how about all those lazy agents that sub their short sale processing away, should they be added to the mix???

Hopefully when the REO listings go away so will they.

Your post reminds me about one of my favorite movies, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Where's the "like" button? We've been fortunate to have some in our area who run their business like a business -- but we've got the other kind too...

It's funny because I think there is an entirely different personality that thrives in the REO side of real estate and I'm not sure they will venture over to traditional client service real estate if and when REO deals dry up.

I have worked with some REO agents that are pretty good at communication and others that weren't. Those who have made REOs their only market might need to adjust to a different market. Learning to work well with others could be a part of the process. Paul, I enjoyed your comments about REO agents. If you read these posts please tell your dad hello for me. I worked with Ray at Realty Executives at the Hayden and Shea office for several years in the late 1980s. I moved to southern AZ in 2001 where I primarily sell land.

Jacqueline Drake CRS

Jacqueline Drake Realty

Cochise County AZ

LMAO, great post and great letter.  I get tired of how they treat us.  

Hi Phillip, we are already seeing it in Ocala, Florida.  Besides the slow dribble of REO coming on the market, more of the other agents have gotten into REO stealing market share from the fat cats.

Bravo!  Love his article, he hit the nail on the head.   We have several characters as he described in his blog that never return calls or have angry assistants that don't service the offers.  It's easy to identify the culprits. 

However, I know many REO agents that are diligent and still respectful of their peers and still understand that service,  respect and professional integrity is necessary. 

It goes back to the old saying - Are you treating others the way your momma would want you to be treated?  Hmmmmm??

I'm excited to read this article!! I love humor like that, and it's so funny, because I was just contemplating this exact topic yesterday! Well put at the end of your post, I'm glad it's not just me that has had that happen with showing unavailable properties that were "available" or finally getting a call through to the agent after several attempts and get a "you can't write an offer on that, it's at auction now!" Unbelievable.

Phil, Thanks so much for turning me on to Paul.  I am now a subscriber to his other site.  It is unfortunate that so many agents no longer have a sense of humor and have turned in to thought police.  I was more offended by Pamela St. Peter's response to his blog than I think she was by the blog itself.  I responded to her comments with:

"If you choose to be an REO agent then do the job correctly or don't do it all. No one forced these agents to take on these listings and if they choose to front money, clean up buildings and condos and homes that sanitation workers would probably turn their noses up at then so be it. Just because you have a difficult job does not give you license to do it poorly. There is an implied level of competence that comes with being a realtor. When my buyer wants to make an offer on one of these god forsaken properties I expect the same amount of professionalism from the REO agent as I do from any other agent I deal with. I don't recall there being a two-tiered level of Realtors. We should all be held to the same principles and ethics. With the exception of one team in our area, most do not return phone calls EVER, insist on all communication by e-mail, aren't available on weekends, have outdated attached paperwork and information on the MLS and do not put forward the type of image that we all work so hard to project. I respect any and all agents who respect me and when I am expected to tolerate behavior that I would never exhibit, I have no patience for it. I thought the satirical article was funny, not an indictment of all REO realtors, but for many, if the shoe fits, wear it. Humor is humor and sometimes it is so true that it strikes a nerve. "  Have not heard back yet but last time I looked free speech was still allowed and if you don't like it, move on.

I had one fairly new agent tell me that he don't work on Sundays..We excuse me I do! The best part was seeing his commission that 1200.  went to some company (I assume a referral company) and his Broker received the balance of the 3% commission of a 105,000. sale somewhere around 1950.00 and I don't know what his take is after his Broker gets paid.  But yes, those agents will have to work like the rest of us! Now, I can't say all have that bad attitude.

Never heard of him.

The truth is that I paid off a bunch of Scottsdale REO agents to distract Paul while I take over McCormick Ranch. 

Hall started the worst publicized strategy of tag squatting in 1988.

Yep, everything comes around eventually!

Though I never posted about it, I told numerous other agents the same thing about new home builders back when the market was booming.  They knew they could sell the house for $30k more than the contract they wrote 6 months ago, so if you asked them to fix the molding that was busted up by the guy installing the stove, or asked them to touch up bad paint jobs, they just said no, and if you didn't like it...feel free to back out of the contract.  The consequence?  I will only show their homes if I am specifically asked, and go out of my way to avoid them like the plague.  I let buyers know about how they treated customers in the past, and advise them not to do business with them.  Now they are all knocking on our doors, trying to give us candy, and bribe us with trinkets...and I throw them all in the trash.

The same will be true of REO agents.  And I can't wait. :-)