Hello from Greensboro, North Carolina and our fair 44 degree cloudy day. It just so happens to be a nice rainy day, which is perfect for picking up the signs from all the REO properties we sold this month!
I talk to people all the time that want to know how we move properties FAST, and I came up with some quick and easy answers to help you MOVE those REO assets that you have on your hands.
No two houses are ever alike, and neither is value. Sometimes, we get assigned a listing and we are super excited about the prospect of making some money on commission. We are just human, right. Well, then we perform our BPO and the value comes in around $45,000. We understand that the market is slower, the house has no floor in the living room, and the bathrooms are falling in. Oh, and did I mention the roof caving in. So we give our value, and sit and wait. The asset manager calls and says, "WHERE did you find your values?!" We say, "what????" (because we thought we were being generous at 45k).
It seems that the other two agents assigned to perform the BPO's on your house came in at $65,000 and $69,000. Now you once again say, "WHAT????" There are a million scenarios like this, where you have to think fast, act faster, and become CREATIVE to sell these listings. So here is what I do, and I hope this helps!!!!
1. Actually GO INSIDE and put the MAXIMUM number of interior photos allowed. I cannot count how many times you see 1 lonely photo (and the side mirror shows up mirroring the agent's hairy arm, conveniently telling you that the agent just slowed down and snapped that photo). People like to see photos, and it will save gas and time for folks that would have weeded your house out by looking at the photos. I have sold more houses this way, than any other method!
2. Put your house on Realtor.com! It is the best $30 you will ever spend, and you get 25 photos, extra descriptions, and a ton of headline features, etc. We pay for a year at a time, and we get a discounted rate for everything our office lists. I pick up BUYER clients from this site MORE than anywhere else!
3. Use craigslist. Make a weekly, monthly, daily list of foreclosure/REO properties that you send out. Email it to your investors, and post it to craigslist as well. We meet the BEST investor clients on Craigslist! Bigger cities like Orlando may have a harder time with this one!
4. Use an automated showings service. We use showings. com, which is Centralized Showings and it makes my life easier. I figured it out about 6 months ago, and it broke down to 18 hours a month I was putting in setting showings. With centralized showings, I pay $40-70 a month and save 18 hours. No matter how you cut it, an extra 18 hours is like an actual DAY OFF (which I remember fondly). My husband is happier too. I cut my phone hours down from 6,000 minutes a month to maybe 3,000 now. Hooray!!!
5. Use your FOOT SOLDIERS! There are REALLY good Buyer's agents in town, waiting for a great deal to show their clients. Get a list of these folks. Email them. Call them. Text them. Twitter and Facebook them, but let them know this house is out there. They will be thrilled that you have a great deal for them. I sell more homes by Networking than by MLS.
6. BE NICE! It is hard to get 200 calls a day, and Realtors want you to hold their hand through the REO purchase process. 4-6 calls in one day from the same Buyer's agent is not uncommon, and we need to be patient and calm!!! This is the hardest one!!!! Believe me :)
Hope that helps you in some way!
360 Realty
Realtor, NC Broker, REO Specialist, Multi-Million Dollar Producer
(336) 505-1080
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