Hi!

I have been lurking around here for a few weeks and decided to register. Lots of interesting information here.

I have been a licensed broker for about 4 years. I recently went active and started doing some BPO work. Prior to that I worked weekends in a model home for a builder. (yuck)

I also have a full-time job in the Computer tech field (which I would love to quit)

I am currently affiliated with a BIC. So there is the background, now for the question.

Obviously I have been dabbling in BPO's on a part-time basis...I have done quite a few. from time to time I get offered a listing which I always decline. I even found that some companies will not come back to you for BPO work when you do this. Lately I have thought about considering taking a listing or two. Yet, I have never done this and I have a fulltime job.

Does this seem like something that would be feasable? I feel like I am leaving something on the table when i decline these listings.

Anyway, hello and thanks for the information.

Stone

are you talking about regular home listings to put on the market? why wouldn't you want to take these listings? the more listings agents have, the more possible chances of having buyers flowing in. i would take the listings. and if they sell, you will make money. i am pretty sure i am understanding this right. if not, clue me in.

Agent 007 these are REO listings...

For a part time agent to accept an REO listing would be foolish for many reasons.

In REO listing significant out of pocket expensed are required for items such as Re-Keying, Trash out, Lawn maintenance, Utilities deposits and turn on/ service, repairs and an extensive amount of additional paperwork which is far more than any traditional listing would involve.

It would not be unusual for an agent to be out of pocket several thousand dollars before getting reimbursed and problems in getting reimbursed are wide spread... as is hooking up with a company that searches for agent do not know which companies can be trusted and which are total rip offs.

I personally think that a part time doing BPO's is a very bad idea. To perform a good BPO you must have excellent knowledge of the market and that just isn't common in new and part time agents. Most brokers will not allow new agent to perform these tasks. E&O insurances would not cover them if lenders made bad decisions based on faulty BPO information.

Well, my question really pertained to the amount of time it takes to support a listing of this type. You mention some very good points about out of pocket expense, but I personally see that as part of the game.

Why would an agent be out of pocket a few thousand dollars. A smart agent would tell their bank client to have an address where everything could be billed. I told my client that I wasn't paying for any repairs on the property. I told them they would have to get billed for the repairs and they agreed. So it would depend on how much work would be needed on the property to say that a part-time agent could handle it or not. I am a go-getter, so I probably would take them if I were part-time. He could always refer them to an reo agent for a referral fee too. That would be another suggestion.

Welcome aboard, Stone.

This brings up a question I have been curious about. I am wondering what the most common method of handling expenses is...direct billing to the client or reimbursement to the agent. I ask that, realizing that there is no such thing as norm in this business...and some of the clients have procedures they want followed to the letter. Appears to me that the clients might have a little more control over expenses if the bills went directly to them...but that may just be the accountant side of me talking. And of course there are always a few expenses that you have to pay for when they are done...like paying the guy who mows the grass so you can find the sidewalk.

In Stone's current situation, less paperwork to do and less money to pay out up front would probably be less stressful while he works on going full time. A really bad REO would be a handful for a part time person, but one needing little repair work might be okay once the prelim work is done...rekey, yard maintenance schedule, that kind of thing.


Good luck.

Stone-

Try and see if you could partner up with an experienced REO agent in your office. Working with another is a great way to see if this is an area of R.E. you'd like to try, not too mention getting some experience under your belt.

How many REO clients do you have that agree to that? Most REO agents that I know (myself included) have to pay up front for the re-keying, trashouts, lawn care, utilities, etc. Unless it's a small bank/company, they usually don't need/want a referral to another agent as they probably have a list of them already and if they don't they can quickly find one.

There can be quite a bit of time put into these properties and you'll need to do most of it during the day Monday-Friday. It may not be the easiest thing to do if you have a fulltime job unless you have a lot of flexibility.

Great advice if someone is willing to let you help them out. You will learn how to handle tons of problems without finding out the hard way. Get ready to kiss your weekends goodbye.

If you guys would understand what I have been saying. I stated that it would all depend on how much work has to be put into the REO in order to tell if a part-time agent can handle it or not. Period. The bank I am working with is not a small bank. It is not a cheap house either.

I think it's great that you have a client that is a large bank and you don't have to front the money for any expenses. There are some that hire service companies on their own to do things like re-keys and trashouts, but if you accept a listing from one that doesn't work that way, I don't think it means you aren't a "smart agent". I agree with Realty that once you have several REO listings, it is easy to be waiting on reimbursements for quite a large sum of money.