Short answer: No. At least not usually.

You know, there always seems to be this "buzz" in the air that somehow REO brokers make it IMPOSSIBLE for "outside" brokers to get offers accepted on good homes. Many brokers, who write offer after offer, only to have them constantly rejected, believe that the listing agents just scoop up the best stuff before ever giving anyone else a chance. But are REO brokers so full of luck that they always have a nest of ready and willing buyers waiting to swarm in on the sweet stuff like a cloud of hungry bees? Not likely. So how does the hot stuff seem to disappear from the market as quickly as it materialized? Well, from an insider's standpoint, I'll tell you...

You see, many buyers, investors and their selling brokers know how to create their own "luck". They work very hard to not only know what a good deal is the minute that they see it, so that they can pounce quickly. But more importantly, they work very hard to know HOW and WHERE to get a look at the hot new properties, before other buyers ever see them. This way, they almost always get the properties they seek, and even better, they avoid costly bidding wars, leaving the "slower" agents to battle it out and bid each other up on the "second choice" properties. So how do they do this? Like I said-HARD WORK! Every day these "smarter than the average agent" folks are on the phones calling REO listing brokers, like myself, and asking if we have properties in our "pre-listing" inventories, that would be a fit for their buyer(s). They're asking to be put on the "list" of agents and foreclosure buyers, who want to be notified, the second we get an authorized list price from the bank. The are constantly checking in with us to see if we are about ready to list the desired properties, so that they can have their buyer (or themselves) ready and waiting to make their move when we call. Of course we can't give them any information until we have a signed listing agreement, but they do ASK. They watch our websites to be sure that they are the first to catch our newly listed properties. They also watch CLIENT websites like trained bloodhounds hunting their prey, always following the scent of that perfect opportunity and going in for the kill when it shows up. THIS is a VERY good way to get a jump on properties folks. MANY MANY MANY times, clients will place homes on their websites, with the names and phone numbers of the intended listing brokers, even BEFORE the listing broker knows the property is coming. Can you think of a better way to ensure that YOU get the first shot at a house, than actually informing a listing broker about his upcoming property and then telling him that you will sell or buy it the minute he gets it?! I can't! Heck, I'd love you for it! Not only did you make my day but you'll also be making me look like a hero to my client. Trust me, you and I will be BEST of friends and I will ALWAYS remember to look out for you when I see something good coming down the pipeline. There are so many different things that you can do to get an edge over your competitors when you are selling REO properties. I'm not going to give them all to you here. I'll share more on REO Rockstars calls. For now, just do a little thinking. It's really easy to stay a step ahead of your competitors when you put your mind to it.

So you see, the rantings of disgruntled agents and buyers who say it's "impossible" to get an offer accepted on an REO or a bank owned home are really just silly, crybaby excuses and "woe is me" sobs for not doing their own due diligence. In fact, I'll go ahead and say it, even knowing that I'll take some blastings from folks who still don't "get it"-You should be ASHAMED at yourself for taking the LAZY way out. Remember what I said about LUCK? If I may borrow a quote from the famous golfer Gary Player: "The harder you WORK, the more LUCK you create". So, if you REALLY want to be the guy who is always able to get REO offers accepted, then start thinking outside the box and figure out how YOU can put yourself in the right places at the right time. It's EASY to be among the mediocre majority. Being a winner takes smarts and HARD WORK!