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Give All Realtors Access to REO Listings and They Will Save Their Homes

By Christian Viollaz

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Published: 02Jun2009
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How much time is left before we lose our home? It's already too late for most of us. If only we had sold a couple REOs per month--we might have made it.

We've been trying since last September to get into the the REO market as selling agents. We've sent many broker application packages to the REO companies, and were even pre-approved by a couple of them (for a $200 fee).

Who are these REO companies? Asset managers hired by investors or lenders to sell foreclosed properties go to the REO companies' website.

These companies will take applications from real estate agents. They'll check to make sure that we're licensed and have the necessary insurance. They'll ask if we have REO training and certification. If not, they'll try to sell us theirs.

We are the professionals, yet they're checking to see if we're properly trained. If not, they say they can teach us how to sell REO--for a certification fee, of course.

So far, we've been completely out of luck getting into the REO market. Each REO company has required us to drop a couple hundred bucks every time we sign up with them.

Recently, REO companies have sent Congress an alarming message.

They say less than a third of one percent of all realtors maintains a stranglehold on the REO market, while the rest of the industry sinks in despair.

For now, the "20-80 rule" (20% of realtors accounting for 80% of business) is a distant memory. It seems like the new rule should be changed to the "1-80 rule," with less than 1% of the agents closing 80% of the deals.

They say roughly 5,800 realtors nationwide sold 1.6 million REO homes in 2008. That's an average of 22 closed listings per REO agent per month.

Why are these REO companies trying to alarm Congress? Because they hope to train, educate and certify 150,000 realtors nationwide. Take the $200 fee they charge to join, multiplied by 144,200 realtors, and they make more than $28 million. The certification fee costs just as much.

Truly, I'm glad they alarmed Congress-but we don't need their certifications. It's not recognize by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) or the California Association of Realtors (CAR). It's just another way to take money from our pockets.

We are the licensed real estate professionals. We check our inventory, we find buyers, we represent sellers, we manage and resolve all issues during the transaction, we manage rental property. We are photographers, marketers, contract negotiators, website maintainers...and the list goes on. We realtors are multi-taskers.

And now, we need to pay someone to come tell us how to run our business? To educate us and certify that we're properly doing our job?

Just like being a pilot, attorney or doctor, we realtors take all the requisite tests, and get all the necessary licenses and insurance. Yet we have to go through them to be certified to sell REO?

Yes, I'm glad they alerted Congress. We need to open REO access to all agents without discrimination. It cannot be a private club. We have to say NO to this monopoly.

At one time we had hope. But by now, most of us have already lost our homes, filed bankruptcy and are debt FREE. You realtors in control of the REO market, on the other hand, are only making enough to pay off your debts.

Like anything else, the REO market will dry out. You may be glad you made all that money, but your assets have lost 100% of their value. Like all other REO agents, you cannot do short sales or foreclosures to get rid of your debt.

It's like pouring water into a hole that can never be filled. Soon you'll run out of water, and your hole will go dry. You see, it's all about greed. You always have to look at least 1, 3 to 5 years ahead.

Making and saving all that money for such a small group, and for what? To lose it all in the end? What's the point?

Most Realtors have lost their homes because you want to keep all the business for yourself. But we are now debt FREE, and the home market is at one-third its former value.

To you REO agents who monopolize the market: What is your plan?

Christian Viollaz is a real estate broker in Monterey County, California. He has done hundreds of REO transactions representing hundreds of buyers. Click here to find out all his secrets.

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