I have double donged a couple in the last few months. I think the sellers are encouraging this through commisison structures. Buyers' agents are causing many deals to go south. Sellers don't want to deal with buyers who have SUPER BUYERS' AGENT. Buyers agent is such a tough job when buying REO, especially if you represent a 1st time buyer. How can you do the job? Buyers have to give up so many rights when they sign the addendum. Your job as buyers agent is to preserve rights and see the buyer gets as much of what the want/need. Buying REO they get little or nothing, maybe a good price.

It seems like the losers always call FOUL.

No one, I'll repeat, NO ONE, stays in this business for long by withholding offers from the seller.

When you get to an H&B status, it's the responsibility of the buyer's agent to advise their client on the possible outcomes, and explain the H&B isn't just about price. It's about dates, it's about financing and it's about inspections.

I agree with the Keene Team. I do not double end deals. I have a buyer's agent that I send every buyer call to. He tells them he has no inside info, which is true. If an agent calls and tells me he is writing an offer, I tell them it is a multi offer situation and ask what they are going to write. If they are way off, I tell them it is a waste of time based on the offers I have. I put in the MLS that the property is in a highest and best situation, the day and time of the deadline. I never take anything after that deadline. I e-mail all the agents that have written and offer and let them know if they are not the offer the bank took. The one thing that I can not stand is all the phone calls - has the bank accepted an offer? Yes you moron - and I am just keeping it a secret. I just want to scream. I tell them they will receive an e-mail when the bank accepts and offer - but they still call.

O.k. so those agents who responded that they don't double end and they communicate with buyers' agents...Bravo! But, you are in the minority. From my perspective as a regular agent (I have only had a few REO listings) is that the industry has sunk to a new all-time low in ethics. Here are some of my daily frustrations:
1. New REO listings where the agent says "call for combo" but never calls back and the listing is pending in 2 days. Or the combo is wrong and the listing sells in 2 days.
2. New REO listings that come on the market at 11:55 p.m. and are pending by 12:05 a.m.
3. REO and short sale agents who do not respond to my request for verification they received my full-price or higher 20% down offer yet keep the property on the MLS as active until one day it is pending or it just stays as active while my buyer keeps bugging me about what happened to their offer.
4. Short sale agents who leave properties as active without any agent notes saying that they already have an offer at the bank and 10 back-up offers.
5. OCWEN when my buyer has the highest offer and then my offer disappears. I resubmit and I'm again the highest offer and the property disappears off their listings. Nobody at OCWEN knows what happened.
6. Short sale agents who accept my buyer's offer (seller signs offer) and when they get bank approval my client becomes the back-up offer after 2 months of waiting because some other buyer came in at the last minute with a higher offer.

I have written my board about standardizing short sale listing proceedures or at least how they are listed and updated in the MLS and they say they are working on it because of all the complaints. As for REO listings, I don't even bother to hope for professionalism from many but at least I know who they are and I try to avoid their listings. Yes, supply and demand are out whack because of the banks holding properties off market but it wouldn't be so frustrating if agents behaved ethically. I know very few of the agents on this board would stoop to these levels but 25% bad apples spoils the whole bunch.

Yes... and email... and text. I love the ones who cop a huge attitude. I have an automated feedback form that commuinicates with my Supra boxes and gets emailed to the buyers agent as soon as the showing agents esync their Supra Keys. I always have agents that submit an offer and the very next morning, reply to the feedback for with "Was my offer accepted?". It will send out the form 3 times, once every every 48 hours until they complete the online form. Do they complete the form??? NO. they reply to the email. I had one the other day that submitted an offer (along with 6 others) and replied to the email with "I submitted an offer didnt I? That should give you all the feedback you need to know" then 48 hours later (while still waiting for seller response), on the second automated feedback request, he replies "I have an Idea. You send me a response to my offer and I will send you some feedback". Seriously. How does this guy think acting like a jerk is going to increase his chances of getting his offer accepted? I replied and said "no final decision on offers yet." - that was it. So many agents in this business have absolutely no courtesy or professionalism whatsoever

If you are under the same broker it is still dual representation (only by desinated representitives), at least in VA.

Maybe this was intended for another poster, but I never mentioned anything about withholding offers from the seller. Last I checked, I was not crying foul either. Again maybe this was intended for an earlier poster, because it does not apply to my post.

I can only speak to your REO Frustrations.

I get a request from a seller that the property need to be marketed, please provide BPOs, arrange trashout, etc. Any idea how many hours I am idle at the property taking pics, collecting bids, whatever. I also talk to the neighbors when I am there, they need my card to call me if somebody breaks in, the contractors act a fool whatever, they are my eyes. Sometimes they are my buyers.

I represent my client. Their instructions say that I CAN pre-market the property prior to the go ahead for listing. So yes sometimes the deal is sealed prior to the MLS listing, so its entered and pending on the same day.

I agree with many of your points though. I as a selling agent frind it frustrating when an Buyer agent has no email listed. I make alot of my calls late in the night so I may just call at 11pm to tell you the counter offer.

For me double-ending can create problems and a bit of uneasiness. I would rather the competition be between other agents buyers, that way I can objectively field the best offer for the seller.
It seems most of my sellers will go with the best priced offer that can close the fastest, and have the least amount of or no contingencies.

To me the CORE problem hasn't been addressed and it's at the root of alot of these problems. It comes down to EXPECTANCIES of the buyer and their agents. They need to know what they are in for with a buyer counseling session before jumping into the game. Agents need training on submitting offers on foreclosures and distressed property and what they can expect so they can properly counsel their clients.

The main problem is the TYPE of buyer you have. I always ask my buyers what their goal is so I can advise if it's realistic or not. Usually there are 3 sets of buyers. 1.Buyer wants to live in it themselves. 2.Buyer purchases for investment to hold for long term cash flow and wealth accumulation. 3.Buyer wants to purchase rehab and flip (sell) to a retail investor to hold long term or an end buyer for purchase or owner finance.

What I see happen is many buyers (of all types) want a property with a little carpet and paint and want to pick it up cheap. The problem is regular buyers don't need the profit margin of a flipper or a investor renting it out.

So almost everyday of the week you will get outbid by regular buyers. This is why it's a waste for investors to lowball bids on these cosmetic properties. When paying cash you can pick up 50 cents on the dollar or better but these have foundation issues or other multiple problems where regular buyers cannot get financing. At that point the bank is looking for cash buyers and ready to deal.

I have one investor who owns a foundation company. He specifically likes to buy 4 properties or so a year that have bad foundations as the banks can't sell them and other investors even cash ones get scared away. He makes a killing on these as the banks are desperate to sell them.

So as a buyer having a realistic strategy for what you want to do makes all the difference in the world.

I agree with Keep Trucking, it sounds just as in South Florida! I contacted my board yesterday regarding the MLS procedures for short sales and they did verify that when the seller accepts an offer it should show as PS or B, agents here just continue showing it as Active! Everytime I call to confirm it's still active I get the same answer, it has an accepted offer. I should not have to even call to ask, if it shows as active it should be active. They forget they have 24hrs to update the system, they are all making up new strategies. I tell you, it gets tiring....

You're right, it was to anothr a couple ahead of you in line.