Posts tagged area info

One of the hard parts to an agents job who works in the foreclosure area of the business is simply the communication process. The following scenario is typical and happened to me just the other day:

Agent x gets seemingly well priced foreclosure listing with only a one month term. When the listing contract expires, a renewal comes, but this time from somebody different, an auction company. That same morning, the agent gets a call from somebody saying “hey, did you know your listing is getting auctioned off?” This is when things really get out of control. After filling out about 10 pages of paperwork, all new to the eyes of the agent so one needs to “re-learn” all of it including responsibilities of the agent, escrow procedures etc., you learn that these auction companies seem to be a marketing ploy and that’s about it. You see, many of these auctions are considered “non-absolute”, meaning, the seller can reject the highest bidder. But, in the typically heavy handed way, the BUYER doesn’t even have the right to revoke their offer within 14 days of the auction with this particular case!

And so the point is… what? It’s simply an open house with the chance to get into a bidding war and submit binding offers that can’t be revoked!

Anyhow, the day before the auction, this poor old agent x gets an email from the auction company saying that they have been trying to gain access for 2 weeks and that the codes and keys need to be verified by the agent personally asap. Even though the auction company is the one that hired the re-keying and new lock-box, they don’t know what the code is, or if the key works. After many phone calls it turns out that there are seven points along the communication chain: the client (bank) hires us. Then the client hires an auction company to market the property and the “previous list broker” (agent x) essentially becomes a property manager. But the auction company also hires a property management company. This property management company then hires a subcontractor to deal with securing the property. When the subcontractor wants to tell everybody that somethings been completed, they tell the property management company. If they are competent enough to pass along the information to the auction company (who is a different entity altogether than the actual auctioneer), then word may or may not pass to the foreclosure department in a real estate company. And if EVERYBODY is working on relaying messages that day, which is pretty much never, the agent, the person who is really supposed to be in the field selling this place, will get the message that the locks were changed and that the code is 1234.

Being the diligent agent that they thought they were, this agent decided to go to the auction and see it all play out.  But, upon showing up, there was nobody there save for a security company.  “Weren’t you ‘matt’ from the security company that I spoke with over the phone yesterday?” the agent says.

Matt replies, “No, we’re a different security company.”

Agent says: “Where is everybody?”

Matt replies: “Oh, you didn’t get the message?  The auction is in White River, 1.5 hours away.”

Ha Ha Ha!

Ben Thomas,
agent x