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Representing Home Buyers in Ventura County REO Market

By Mana Tulberg

Real Estate Agent with 805 County Real Estate

September 14, 2008 11:19 AM

Working With Home Buyers in Ventura County REO Market

This year Ventura County's Real Estate Market, like many other real estate markets all over the country, presented more and more Bank Owned Homes/REO Homes to Home Buyers. It is sad, but true that as the number of bank owned homes increase home prices decrease. Recently home buyers have gradually come out of their shells and become more aggressive.

Unfortunately Ventura County's bank owned homes are represented by only a handful of Realtors. As I talk to more Realtors in the Rain, I have come to realize that most communities in the country are represented by just a few Realtors as well. Depending on the size of your community and the distribution of REOs in your community, these REO Realtors are over-worked and spread thin. Some are so busy and unavailable that once you do get a hold of these Realtors, you forget what you had called them for. LOL. I mean no disrespect to my fellow Realtors, but I am encouraged that you have been too busy to return the interested buyers' calls.

Currently I am representing 2 home buyers who originally called our local REO agents. After several attempts and no results, these home buyers contacted me :0) They found my Active Rain posts and Localism posts very helpful and informative.

As you may have guessed by now I have no REO listings, but have written several posts for home buyers on what they should expect when presenting an offer on a Short Sale Home or a Bank Owned Home. I have changed my services and blogs with the times to match the needs of the home buyers and home sellers in my community.

In today's market, home buyers need to be more diligent than ever. To most home buyers Short Sales and Bank Owned Sales/REOs are a new approach to purchasing a house. As a Realtor, it is my job to inform the local home buyers of the changing market conditions and ease their apprehension. If not me, then who?

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Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Good luck to you with this new focus Mana. There are plenty of REOs out there, no doubt about it.

Sep 14, 2008 12:04 PM

Teri Eckholm

Boardman Realty - White Bear Lake, MN

REALTOR Serving Mpls/St Paul North & East Metro

Mana--I try to explain the pitfalls of short sales and REO properties to buyers from the get go too. If the buyers have patience and flexible timing, then we move forward. It can be a long road. Sounds like you are focused on helping your buyers acheive their dream home no matter what status it is in. Good for you!

Sep 14, 2008 12:15 PM

Lynda Eisenmann

Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA

Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Hi Mana,

Good information for home buyers anywhere. Bank repos/foreclosures have been driving our market for a while. And I tend to agree with you (generally) on the lack of response by most REO agents. I've heard of some that have been 200-500 listings. All too often the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.

We have a REO accounts in my own office, it seems that today some of the asset managers/lenders will assign no more than 20 at one time. One agent received 14 in one day. Even that number is not easy to keep up with especially when they have special requirements in the beginning. Fortunately these agents have developed some good systems and resources that help.

Keep up the great work!

Sep 14, 2008 02:07 PM

Mana Tulberg

805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA

Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA

Gary, My focus has mainly been home buyers. However, now more than ever home buyers want to look at only REOs!!!

Teri, Thank you. I try to do the same before we even see the first home together :0)

Lynda, In your office I'm sure people would implement the very best systems. I understand that REO agents are extremely busy now. So concentrating on the buyers who are interested in these type of properties seems only the smartest and most beneficial thing to do both for the Realtor and the home buyer.

Sep 14, 2008 04:35 PM

Bill Gassett

RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA

Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

Mana - It would be great if maybe one of the REO department heads got wind of the fact that you are a great Realtor and would be interested in woring with them! :)

Sep 15, 2008 12:19 AM

Mana Tulberg

805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA

Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA

Bill, Thank you for the complement. Some times I wonder if I really want to work with the lenders' REO department!!

Sep 15, 2008 03:21 AM

Chuck Willman

Chuck Willman - Alpine, UT

NewHouseUtah.com

It is a shame that some of these properties are in the hands of a few agents who are unable to fully represent them.

Sep 15, 2008 04:42 AM

Constina M. Baylor

REMAX Gold Coast Realtors Oxnard - Oxnard, CA

Broker Associate - Oxnard Homes, Oxnard Beach and Marina

Hi Mana,

I'm a realtor in Oxnard right near Camarillo and kinda new to AR and am learning so much. Too many of the properties on the market are REO's and short sales that will eventually become REO's. I agree...many agents have multiple listings and I just posted a blog about the frustration of not receving return calls. I must add that it is a small majority that don't but nevertheless it effects my ability to conduct business. I am very appreciative of the agents that a return my calls or post updates to the mls. I'd love to be in a position to have so many listings that they're hard to keep up with, but I'd certainly do what I needed to as a courtesy to other agents. That's the professional thing to do. Isn't it?

Sep 15, 2008 05:04 AM

Mana Tulberg

805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA

Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA

Chuck, Yes it is.

Constina: unfortunately or fortunately my current clients had no luck getting a hold of these REO listing agents. I guess that would make the job for the rest of us who don't take REOs lot easier. Welcome to the Rain, and please let me know if there is anything I could do to make your experience here more fun.

Sep 15, 2008 06:31 AM

Thesa Chambers

West + Main - Bend, OR

Principal Broker - Licensed in Oregon

Mana - good for you - keeping up todate with the market the needs brings you business... go get em girl - Love the font and format you are using on your posts

Sep 15, 2008 04:40 PM

Gita Bantwal

RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA

REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Mana, Good post. Wish you good luck. If you have a great REO lisiting well below market I know someone in your area who might want to invest in Simi Valley.

Sep 15, 2008 11:19 PM

Mana Tulberg

805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA

Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA

Thesa, Thank you. We all have to make changes with the times.

Gita, There are so, so many of them below market value. If you like we can talk and discuss some scenarios.

Sep 16, 2008 03:37 AM

Ana Connell

G & C Properties - Burbank, CA

Burbank Real Estate Agent

Great post......I'm finding the exact same scenario.....the agents with REO's are spread so thin we're not getting calls returned. What's frustrating is because your call does not get returned you put in an offer, only to find out there are 12 other offers in on the property. Or the property is in escrow but the MLS was not updated.....very frustrating for me and my buyers.

Sep 16, 2008 04:26 AM

Mana Tulberg

805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA

Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA

Ana, OHHH, you said it my friend, you said it all.

Sep 16, 2008 06:29 AM