The DEADLY SIN of “Waiting” to Submit an REO Offer

I read a very interesting blog post today, by a real estate agent, named Tni LeBlanc. I have to admit, that I went into reading her post about “5 Reason Why You Should Write the Offer Today“, with anticipation of hearing a lot of the same “old school”, real estate mumbo-jumbo, about how you need to hurry up and get buyers out of your car and move on to the next, or some of the other typical real estate agent BS, that your average 3-4 home-per-year-selling agent spews out, just to hear themselves talk. But Tni turns out to be VERY insightful, especially in her comment (Reason #5) about “Fridays” and REO properties. She mentions that “For an REO (foreclosure), waiting until Friday to submit an offer means that your offer probably has to withstand weekend buyer traffic and interest…”, and she is DEAD ON. Most REO Asset Managers do not work weekends, and as an REO broker, who sells HUNDREDS of REO properties every year, I can tell you first hand, that getting that offer in on Friday, will almost CERTAINLY expose your buyer to a bidding war, with offers that come in over the weekend, especially with a GREAT REO listing. It is a big point of contention, when it happens to an agent, who legitimately was the first to make an offer, and was told that they were the only offer as of Friday, only to find out, that they got bumped by an agent who brought and offer in over 48 hours later. Trust me, there’s a lot of name calling and hair pulling in the REO business, because many agents, unlike Tni, just don’t understand the REO game. REO training just isn’t something that’s been undertaken by many real estate agents, in their up and coming years. No one EVER expected this sort of foreclosure prevalence in the marketplace, yet, still today, very few agents actually seek out the REO training that they need. So, they run out aimlessly, “serving” clients, in a way, that could actually be harmful, rather than helpful. This “Friday” thing is VERY common, as buyers often give themselves the “week” to find their home, and they decide on Friday, which as Tni correctly advises, is the WORST possible thing for the agent AND the buyer. So, if you are an agent, selling REO properties, take Tni’s advice, and mine, and move FAST when you see a home that suits your buyer. Otherwise, you’re likely to be out searching and losing for a heck of a long time. On a side note: I also LOVE her Reason #3: “Your Offer May Deter Other Buyers”….Amen Tni. Amazing how psychology plays into the whole “buying” game, whether you are selling REO properties or traditional real estate listings.