I attended a foreclosure seminar recently and had the pleasure of sitting in on a presentation conducted by J.C. Melvin, www.JCMelvin.com . I’ve known JC for many years and find him to be a very talented and motivating speaker/trainer. In any event JC used a “Bucket of Mud” metaphor and related it to our industry. That is that many brokers, agents, loan officers, escrow officers, etc. etc. etc. are walking around yearning for the good old days. These guys wake up, grab their buckets and head off to spread their “old school” skills and cheer with anyone that’ll listen. Let’s face it guys, our world’s changed so you’d better get over it. I’d like to offer a few points for all to consider:

  •  Buyers actually have to qualify for a home. They need good credit. The lender may actually require a down payment. Say it isn’t so! Risky lending practices created most of this mess. Don’t you think it should be this way? Perhaps we could have avoided all of this had things stayed as they were when I entered the industry in 1991. Those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it, get over it.
  • Distressed properties will continue to dominate the Nevada market for the foreseeable future. We real estate pros must innovate, adapt and most importantly learn. This is a whole new world. It’s filled with hard work and accountability. Much more focus should be placed on loss and risk management. Our top people must embrace this and get over it.
  • We will work harder for less money, get over it. We may need to work 40 – 50 hours per week or more. In the words of my teenage son, OMG!
  • Banks, asset managers, third party REO (Real Estate Owned, the industry word for “forclosure”) service providers are overwhelmed. Much of this is caused by a lack of training from the real estate pros they rely upon for their field work. By the way, you typically can’t buy a bank-owned home conditioned upon the sale of another home. You probably won’t get your short-sale done in 45 days. Your listing is not worth 20% more than the nearly identical foreclosure listing down the street. The claw foot tub, great border paper and 16 pound nails are not worth $50,000. We really owe it to the public on this one.

I would like to make one statement directed towards some banks and loan servicers. Please stop using your collection department staff to manage loan modification. It’s kind of like asking your dentist to remove your appendix. Loan originators must be patient and intuitive. Skills not typically associated with your “repo-man”. Oh! And please stop losing my short sale file. You never seem to misplace my house payment!

 

Thanks for listening, I’m going to go sell another REO now.