Our main customer is weeding out underperforming agents. They had actively recruited agents and they are removing the ones that have not worked out as well.

Now Grampa! Shame on you! You have just made all the agents that have not got recent assignments say "Am I one of the agents being weeded out?!" It's all speculation anyway. There are a myriad of stories aren't there? I started this post and appreciate everyone's contributions.

I wonder if your main client is the same as my main client... Fortunately, I always deliver and my AMs express their appreciation frequently. Which reminds me, we had 4 close today

I believe that the 4th quarter is when the banks are going to release the REO's. Banks like to save their losses and take them all in the same quarter. The Obama admin has been pressuring the banks to delay foreclosures all year and they have definitly gotten their way. The banks have played games with their balance sheets all year in order to show paper profits. The obama admin has been able to keep the foreclosures out of the news.

There was a tidal wave? Maybe I live too far inland! lol

I don't need a tidal wave...I'll take a ripple at this point. I may start drinking ripple if I dont get some listings. My buyers are driving me crazy!

During the past few months, we've been averaging 20 to 25 offers on REO's as they've been released to market. Some offers have been coming in $30k to $50k over market value....I can't see appraisals hitting that mark. If the banks would incease their release by 4 times their current marketing plan, they'd still should receive 4 to 5 offers per listing...values would continue to increase and inventory would be moving....maybe the 4th quarter will be better.......we can all hope.....

Absolutly not my intention. Do not wish to make anyone nervous. I would suspect the ones being weeded out did not have the where with all to even find this Forum. That is why they are being weeded out.

For those of you that are busy & loved by these AM's what would you say a performing agent does that an unperforming agent doesn't?

After speaking to different people at various banks, I have learned that the Bank's strategy is to release slowly because it's in their best interest to retain more dollars instead of flooding the market which will cause a slowdown on home sales. In saying that, I also read a report that loan mods are now going by the wayside because the big banks have already paid back the TARP money and is no longer obligated to loan mod anybody, I am thinking the next hot niche market will be....take a deep breath.....SHORT SALES! I hate them, but we gotta do em because banks are more interested in doing them then foreclosing or loan modding.

I don't think the next wave will be short sales. For many homes going into foreclosure here, there are two loans on the property because the buyers did a 100% mortgage. The second lien very rarely cooperates with the first lien here and just forces the first lender to foreclose on the property. It's a lot of work to see two banks just throw it down the tubes. Just my two cents.

Okay.... My RE crystal ball says the following:

East Coast, Heavy hit in REO's - Short sales have been exhausted and there is no value left.

Midwest - (Not counting OH or MI because the values there can't get any lower) Banks will be trying for loan mods or short sales still for first quarter in '10 - These are not heavy value states for most banks so they won't lose much on the mod or short sale.

Out west, Banks are learning that limited inventory is their best option in these cases, they'll let them go to REO and then just trickle them out. Probably won't see a flood until first quarter however and then it will hit hard (Except Cali because of the moritorium - I expect 4th quarter 09 to be hit hard in Cali to try to get as much off the books as possible)

Should we see if my crystal ball is right?

J~

I'll give you a quick example from today.

An AM from by biggest client calls and has some questions about a BPO for one of my assignments. It turns out they had 3 BPOs done. Mine and another guy's came in about the same ($120 or so), but the 3rd guy's value was quite a bit higher ($160s). So before he decided what to list the property at, he wanted to touch base with me to get a little better idea of the condition of the house. So we talk for a while, I answer all his questions about the repairs and stuff, but instead of just leaving it at that and ending the call, I asked him to give me the comps the other guy used for his report. By this time I'm late on the BPO I was working on (sorry EML), but it's always been my belief that you go above and beyond for AMs any chance you get. So I spend about a half hour going over these comps (which are all way superior) with him, and he has me PDF them and send them over to him.

Cool, he seemed pleased, I had a chance to spend some time chatting with an AM I haven't worked before I only fell a little behind, no biggie.

An hour later I get a new assignment. From him. Could be coincidence, but I'm sure it didn't hurt that I had just taken an hour out of my day to help him get his value figured out.

I'm not saying to be a suck up, but go out of your way to take care of your AMs. Get code violations taken care of before they have to tell you to, stuff like that. Anything that makes their life easier is going to make you look better in their eyes.

And tell them when they are thinking of listing a property too LOW (that is, if they ask)--rather than just taking the low list price and looking for a fast sale.

I had a quad a few months back for which the AM called me about my value, $25k lower than the other two opinions. Turns out that the 2nd opinion BPO agent and the appraiser were in the house at the same time. On the day the property listed (closer to my value than to the other two), the 2nd opinion agent presented an offer that was close to his value. Of course, I would not have known his value if the AM had not told me.

Fortunately, I also got two full price offers that same day. Man, it feels good to be right once in a while; and I'm so glad that I stood my ground when the AM called to question my value! Taking that lower list price would have been less of a risk for me (and it did cross my mind for half a second), but it would not have served the best interests of my client.

Call me naive or just plain stupid but I'm having a hard time grasping the idea that banks are withholding REOs from the market.
Mutual agreement to postpone a forelcosure is a much different story which is a common ocurrrance in even in past foreclosure waves.

That's not the bank sitting on inventory.

The last thing a bank wants to do is hold property any longer than possible after its reverted back to them. It becomes a hot potato at that point.

Shadow inventory huh? I don't buy it. Its all media spin.