Reportedly, an instructor at an REO class said that buyers' agents should ask to be present when the listing agents upload an offer to the bank or outsourcer. That the BA should be able to see the screen of the offer platform, or where the offer is going and to whom, etc.

Politely tell him that will not be necessary. You will submit the offer. End of discussion.

Although I have never in five years had that one thrown at me, but that would be my response.

Ah -considering there will be a very good chance I am sitting in my home office,in my sweat pants, unshowered when the offer is uploaded - have at it. Just move the cat from the spare chair, and you can watch.
How about instead of worrying whether I am doing my job, buyer's agent, why don't you do yours? Here's an idea - incourage your buyer to do a home inspection - so they know what they are buying - so that when the appraisal comes back with multiple conditions - your buyer already knows what is wrong. Or heres a better idea quit writing me FHA offers on properties that will never ever go FHA. Or how about you stop sending me emails that start with "I know this is as is but here is a buyer's request to remeday". I hope that who ever taught that class told the agents all of the above - oh and why don't you get to know the ins and outs of rehab loans - cuz you're gonna need that knowledge. Present when I upload and offerr??? That is the least of a buyer's agent's worries - I would LOVE a buyer's agent to ask me that in my present mood - how fun.

I've never had it happen either, but I often print out the offer screen and save it in the property folder, just in case. And I always do it when an offer is rejected, so the buyer's agent can show their client in case the client thinks their offer wasn't presented.

Polite no, ala papa lou, copy of the offer ala PA. I love Over the Edge, "I know this is as is, but", I've had that, plus, a buyers agent demand of an additional 1% commission payable to buyer's agent, plus seller concessions. These people are nuts.

Oh yeah, ask the buyers agent if they can get a refund on their "How to REO" class tuition.

Hahaha! This was a good laugh first thing this morning. No way. I don't know about the rest of you, but my laptop is more secure than my house, and no one gets near it. There's a ton of confidential stuff on here (and near it) not too mention the sites I go to for biz purposes. And I have zero trust for the security of any other pc. So working on someone else's is not an option. If a BA wants proof an offer was submitted, a screen shot is fine.

This reminds me of a "loss mitigation" meeting I had with a seller some time ago. The seller had taken a course in "How to avoid foreclosure". Interestingly, they had the $$$ for the course, kind of ties in with all the multi level marketing material we find when we do clean outs. Any way, some of the sharp advice in how to avoid foreclosure included, remove your house #, steal your street sign, post your number on a different property on the block. Brilliant stuff.

I'm with you KT...I have more security features on my laptop than my house!

I, too, print out the screen shot and all rejections...this business is all about CYA!

My response would be "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA". Then when I quit laughing I would advise the agent that all of the systems that I work on are proprietary.

Then, after I give them a bit of time to look it up in the dictionary, I would add that we are not allowed to let anyone see, access, etc. etc. any system, AMC, AM, or AMC Attorney (or anyone else involved with the property) including contact info under threat of removal as an REO agent from the company.

If they do not trust me to upload the offer, do not submit it.

We are professionals and I am offended that anyone would indicate that I was less than ethical by asking such a thing.

In FL it is a law that we must present all offers unless intructed otherwise by the seller. FREC does not see the need to look over my shoulder when I upload an offer and no one else is going to either.

The BA is probably just trying to get info on your AMC company so they can sign up with them also.

------End of Rant-----

LOL, before computers and buyer agents, agents were 99% present during a offer presentation- incl FLORIDA where I got my start many years ago-but nowadays most agents work from home, and I would not have agents come to my house for presenting any offer PERIOD- like you said, if you don't trust me, don't send me any offers to present-end of story! LOL

If they pull the trick of getting more commission turn it around on them - in Alabama the listing or buyers agent can present offers to each others client as long as all parties are there.

What I do as the listing agent for my sellers is present the lowest offer possible right out of the box- and show to the buyer a reduction in the agents commission - trust me I did that once and that agent has never tried that again.

I love this forum and all the members, I really do!

I heard also that at this class (I do not have the luxury of attending "how-to" classes b/c I'm busy actually DOING) other crazy ideas were presented on how to be a better REO buyers agent. There might have been heckling...

The thing that was concerning (and I ask for input, please), is that the "be present when your offer is uploaded, and look at any comments the agent is making", etc., was the notion that a buyers agent has the "right" to be present when an offer is submitted.

I can't find that notion supported anywhere, can anyone else? And, GP-- it is true that we have confidentiality concerns with our banks/outsourcers-- but can you explain how that can be used to defend us from another agent insisting on looking over our shoulder?

While many of us REO LAs feel that sometimes even OUR offers aren't submitted when we have an REO buyer, or there actually may NOT be multiple offers, or our offer WAS the H&B, or a bank we work with routinely does NOT do or say what we're being told by the LA, etc., etc., we still cannot PROVE these suspicions, except rarely.

Edit: I kind of left that last thought hanging out there unsupported. I'm trying to say that the mere suspicion of pan-LA wrongdoing is no reason to go around telling agents in a class that they should insist on seeing everything or as much of everything that passes from the REO LA to the REO client. Especially when the BA, trying to be a hero, adds all kinds of add'l terms/conditions to an offer and expects that all that stuff goes to the client, when many times it simply cannot be submitted. The instructor encouraged agents to get some kind of proof that whatever the BA had put in the original offer reached the Bank/Atty in Fact. That, eseentially, if a BA is harrassing the LA with all kinds of threats of no possibility of sale if you don't do these repairs NOW, or, accept this buyer's offer, and other similar stuff-- that should go to the AM or Bank. Things like, "Please tell the Asset Manager that if the bank doesn't agree to (this or that), the property will go to auction and the buyer will buy it for pennies on the dollar (or wolves will eat it)".

If a listing agent were to allow a buyer's agent to view the comments that are being made to the seller, I would consider that a violation of their fiduciary duty to the seller. We all have a right/obligation to advise our clients. Allowing the "other side" to be a party to that information compromises the seller's negotiating position and is completely unacceptable.

Our local board has a document entitled Evidence of Presentation of Earnest Money Contract. If a buyer's agent made the ridiculous requests suggested in that training class, I would refer them to that document and indicate I will present it to my seller; however, I make no guaranty that the seller will sign it (explaining the reluctance of corporate employees to sign documents not previously reviewed by their legal department, etc, etc). If you have a problem with that Mr./Ms. Buyer's Agent, don't submit. Or file a complaint against me and I will happily supply my documentation to the investigating parties. But under no circumstances will you be allowed to be a party to the presentation of the offer to the seller.

Simple. We use proprietary platforms that reveal the name, email or other contact info for the AMC company, an AM or other info that we are not allowed to disclose. If they are standing over our shoulder (even with an email based offer system they can see and read the email address of who it is being sent to). {Based on observation I am convinced that a full 50% - 60% of the agents in our area can read at a 10th grade level or better.}

Allowing another agent to see any of that info violates the mandate that NO such info be provided to ANYONE else. Period. All the companies that we work with have it in the MLSA (MSA, SLA what ever acronym they use) specifically prohibiting the disimination of that type of info or you are toast.

If an agent has read the latest "REO stratagy of the month book club selection" that is not my problem. Violating the terms of our MLSA is. Not going to happen.

As I said before if they do not like it do not submit an offer. I go to great lengths to advise BA's of what they should take into consideration when writing an offer such as "Do not try to close during the last 5 days of the month" Etc.

I have personally walked over 100 agents through how to set up our MLS to email them our new listings the second the go active. Many of those agents sell the bulk of our REOs. Why? They are smart enough not to be a pain and genuinely want to best serve their customers (and their bottom line).

If an agent asks me for assistance I will respond even if I have other pressing matters. If they come at me with ill will and suspicion I am much less inclined to assist them. That is just human nature and I am just a Human. Being.

I upload my offers between 3am and 4am. Feel free to stop by.

Never thought of that one. Classic. Perhaps I should add that, since I do them at home, I am also naked when I submit them also.

(Hope none of my AM's see this, as it might creep them out)

I thought I was the only one to work at 3-5:00 AM. It is when I am the most productive.

OMG... ROFL!

I forgot until just now, I remember a few years ago having an agent call me because she wanted to present her buyer's offer at 7PM that evening to the seller.

I asked her if she could get to the airport by 11AM, since that was probably the last flight to California that would get her there by 7PM.

She wasn't amused.

When I was just starting out in this business in 1997 one of my first offers to purchase included a contingency that the BA would present the offer to the seller. Not being very confident as a rookie, I asked my broker about it. She told me that indeed the buyer could ask to present the offer but it was up to the seller to agree. So if a buyer/agent wants to wait as we wade through the REO bureaucratic swamp to get permission from the seller, so be it, I'll ask but don't get your hopes up or expect to present the offer anytime soon.

My favorite is when I receive an offer with a hand written list of repairs/reasons why the offer is so low (written by the buyer). Usually I just scan it and send it to the AM, and try to incorporate it into the fill-in forms as much as possible. I've had some very amusing replies from AMs who received these gems! And the buyers always ask, "Does the bank know the house needs this much work?" I impress myself with my own restraint in answering that question!
Speaking of questions, do these "How-to REO" courses teach that there is no contract until both parties have signed the documents?

I have a simple standard answer to that.

"Yes, Of course the bank knows the condition as I explained that to them in the market analysis. That is why they priced it so agressively and are selling it "AS IS" as opposed to doing repairs and listing it much higher than it is. I have worked with this particular seller for an extended period of time and they seem to trust my judgement as they listed it at my recommended price. They did their negotiations, with the knowedge of the condition, in the list price. Also, please see our solds for the past year and note that most sell over list with multiple offers. That is because the bank priced them correctly up front just like they did this one."

There tends to be a long pause on the other end of the phone at the end of that statement.

I love the "have you seen the inside of this place" calls.

Yeh, do you think the magic photo genie snuck in and took those photos on the MLS?

Ahhhh to have the magic photo genie. Not quite, but close to, as good as the "Magic Buyer" our conventional resale customers believe is out there who will pay way too much for the property just because they fell in love with the house and must have it regardless of price.

I love that "magic photo genie" comment.

I'll take the other side here. When I was managing REOs for a certain (recognizably named) broker in 2010, there were a lot of agents in the local area who did not trust him or the person who did the job before me. And several agents wanted to simply call me up & have me input the info as they dictated it and I wouldn't do that.

To build a better working relationship, & clear up misconceptions, I would invite an agent occasionally to come over to my office & look at the screen I was filling in on Equator. Nothing proprietary about that, they didn't get any AM info from that, couldn't see any other offers, nothing. All they could see was their offer being input. It was an eye-opening - & sometimes humbling - experience for several. And it improved working relationships between the REO dept. at that company and many realtors in our area. So, sometimes, it's worth it to let the buyer's agent sit there & watch you.

I have no issue with them being present when I upload an offer. I'll be entering the offer at 2:30 this afternoon, it should be completed by 2:45. See you then.