How To Get REO Listings In 2025
Pursuing REO listings can be a wild-goose chase, or it can be a profitable method to expand your portfolio and grow your organization. This article covers the essentials so you'll understand how to get REO listings the proper way.
What Are REO Listings?
REO (" Real Estate Owned") listings are residential or commercial properties that were foreclosed on by a bank or a loan provider and have not been sold at a foreclosure auction. Instead, the loan provider now owns these residential or commercial properties, and they desire to sell them to recuperate the cash they provided for the residential or commercial property.
It is essential to see the difference in between foreclosures and REO listings.
Foreclosures: The homeowner defaulted on their payments, but the bank does not own the residential or (yet).
REO Listings: The residential or commercial property has actually gone through the foreclosure procedure, and the lender, bank, or federal government firm now owns the residential or commercial property.
Both circumstances present excellent ways to create realty leads due to the fact that they include extremely inspired, "distressed" sellers who would like to work with a representative like you! (Learn other ways to discover motivated sellers.)
How To Get REO Listings: A Quick Overview
These are the four methods we'll cover in this post:
1. List yourself on REO directory sites.
2. Work with federal government firms.
3. Offer BPO services to possession managers.
4. Work directly with banks.
How To Get a List of REO Properties (for Free!)
One option is to be proactive and snatch foreclosures before they technically become REO listings. To find foreclosures in your area, take a look at listing services like Auction.com or Foreclosures.com.
Otherwise, here's how to get REO listings:
- Search for bank-owned homes straight on bank sites and make a deal. You can attempt the big banks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, or US Bank. But you're more likely to be effective if you pursue local banks, lenders, and smaller cooperative credit union in your location.
- Look for listings on REO asset management business websites such as HomePath.FannieMae.com.
- Have a look at government company sites like HUD.gov.
- Visit your local county's site. (Google search" [your county] reo homes," [your county] residential or commercial property search," or" [your county] foreclosures for sale," for example.).
- Lastly, you might even discover REO listings on Craigslist or within your local paper's categorized advertisements.
Now, let's get more particular and dive into the 4 finest strategies for getting REO listing leads.
Strategy # 1: List & Advertise on REO Directories
Listing yourself and promoting your services on REO directory sites can be a reliable method to connect with banks, loan providers, and property management business trying to find property agents with know-how in dealing with REO residential or commercial properties.
For instance, you might sign up with the REO Network.
The drawback to this strategy is-you're not actually "discovering" leads. You're putting yourself in a position to be discovered by leads. To put it simply, you have to rely on luck.
Is a network or directory site going to be your best source of REO seller leads? Probably not. But it's not difficult or lengthy, and it might really well be a "passive" method for you to get REO listings.
Strategy # 2: Work With Government Agencies To Get REO Listings
In some cases, a bank owns a foreclosed residential or commercial property. (We'll cover that in Strategy # 4 below.) But other times, it's a federal government company.
So as you're searching for methods to get more REO listings make certain to check out ...
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which gets unsettled Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages (Note: a Single Family Acquired Asset Management System [SAMS] certification is required.).
- Veterans Affairs (VA) REO residential or commercial properties for sale.
Fannie Mae.
Freddie Mac
Pro Tip: Consider acquiring particular qualifications and certifications, such as NAR's Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource accreditation, to boost your own self-confidence and increase the possibility that prospective clients will see you as a trustworthy specialist.
Strategy # 3: Offer "Broker Price Opinion" (BPO) Services
A BPO is an expert quote of a residential or commercial property's worth. Don't believe of it as a formal appraisal. It's more comparable to a relative market analysis (CMA). Learn more about how to craft a strong real estate CMA.
BPOs are frequently utilized by banks, mortgage lending institutions, and asset management companies to determine the current market value of a residential or commercial property, specifically when they are included in transactions like refinancing, brief sales, or foreclosures.
So the method here is to connect to the decision-makers at the banks, loan providers, and property management business (not their administrative assistants!) and offer to offer a BPO as a form of property networking.
If you can develop relationships with those who deal with REO listings every day, you set yourself up to end up being a go-to representative for your area who can deal with the sales procedure on their behalf. (As a side-benefit, of course, you'll get compensation for your services.)
Strategy # 4: How To Get REO Listings from Banks
Step 1: Discover Who You Can Talk To
Create a list of banks and asset management companies in your target market who frequently sell REO listings. Do your best to get all of the contact information for each.
Again, try to identify who the decision-makers are so you can speak directly to them rather of their assistant. Your success at this point will depend on how well you can develop a relationship with those who remain in a position to pass REO listings on to you.
Step 2: Make Connections
Go through your list and ...
- Submit your application (if relevant).
- Reach out to them with a call.
- Follow up within the week (and any weeks that may follow) with an additional phone call and an e-mail. Be persistent. Showcase your competence, and make it clear why you're the very best realty representative who can help them move REO residential or commercial properties.
Step 3: Prepare
Meanwhile, as you're developing relationships, get ready for the moment when you make your pitch to handle an REO listing.
Conduct research. Familiarize yourself with the local housing market (particularly any data associated with foreclosures and REO listings). Also, be familiar with who they are, exactly what their company does and represents, and about how lots of foreclosures they generally deal with throughout any offered month.
Prepare a scripted presentation. A well-crafted script will help you sound more like yourself, point out all of your crucial talking points, and strategically direct the discussion. As part of your discussion, be sure to consist of ...
- Your distinct selling proposal (what sets your genuine estate brand from the rest).
- Exactly how your service can benefit them.
- How you prepare to offer REO listings (and how that varies from what your competitors and they're present go-to agent are doing)
Step 4: Ask
Once you're positive that you've developed some degree of relationship with the asset manager, bank agent, or whoever it might be you're working with, it's time to make your pitch. Ask if you can schedule 15 to 30 minutes to go over your presentation and detail your technique to selling REO listings.
If they state yes, blow them away with a fantastic first impression! This is a crucial chance that could assist your company grow for several years to come.
If they're not thinking about dealing with you today, you might select to continue fostering the relationship or simply carry on to another potential company where you might be a much better fit.
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