Over the weekend it was brought to my attention how a major REO broker seems to have an internal policy of putting REO listings in "Contingent" status as soon as they print the MLS printout to upload to RES.NET even though they don't have an executed contract. Had suspected as much but had not seen proof of it until recently. That is an unethical and probably illegal game some broker's play. Not only is it not fair to buyers agents and their clients but it may also limit the sales price the financial institution might receive for their assets. Has anyone else experienced that in their market and what have they done to curve such activity?

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  • I've seen it and didn't believe it was like that. However, some brokers / agents do as they please.
  • I was assigned to do an updated BPO on a property last week, it was showing Pending in the MLS, so I was concerned why the bank was wanting an updated BPO when it was under contract - the bank told me it was not under contract, in fact, they didn't have any offers, when I questioned the listing agent, he said that it had been under contract but it fell thru and he just "forgot" to put it back active. Mmm, I wonder if this bank will continue to use him! Carlos, I really hope you can put a dent in some of these unscrupulous agents!
  • Yes, there is a REO agent in my area. He has a lot of listings. I made an offer on the 2nd day after it went on the MLS for my client. I was told they got an accepted offer, when I called about the status. I asked what position is my client's offer. The listing agent said it was 2nd position. So 3 pendings went by without contacting me about my client's offer. All those 3 pending offers did not go through because the buyers did not qualified. I asked the assistant how come my client's offer was not considered when the offer was in 2nd position. The assistant said it was her decision. I never heard of an assistant making a decision for the Broker/Realtor on a listing. They are not licensed to make such a decision. ... Happy to say, my client got this house. And the assistant wasted eveyone's time with buyers who did not qualified for the home.

    I recently made another offer on another home for a different client with the same broker. When I called, I was told the house was still available and that I could submit an offer by 1:00 PM the next day. I submitted the offer the next day and to my surprise the assistant said they accepted an offer already on a REO property. It was not 1:00 PM yet. Now how did the bank make a quick decision when the deadline was on the same day? I don't know what is up, but something is definitely fishery about this Broker. The home does not go pending until a few days later - Probably to show the MLS to the Asset Manager that the home is still active and not pending.

    Something really needs to be done on how offers are handled for REO Listings. The banks/lenders are not getting the true value on a home, when an agent is trying to double end the deal within the same office.

    I ran into a situation, when a listing agent was trying to steal my client. She wanted my client to work with another realtor, so that she can get a 25% referral fee. She did not want to double end the deal herself becasue the commision would get cut, if she did.

    I don't know how agents could be dishonest. When I did some REO in the past, I submitted all offers to the Asset Managers. They made it a policy to not let the listing agents to make the decision on any offers. I just had to submit all of them and do a follow up on the one the Asset Manager chose.
    • Did you file a complaint with their broker, Board of Realtors and / or Real Estate Commission?
      • Steve,

        I believe getting some proof would be difficult. People do lie to cover up. It's their words against mine's.
    • One word for the dishonesty...greed. Unfortunately, in every business industry, there are the good and the ugly.
  • In the past 2 years, I've only double-ended 1 single REO listing. Premier Asset Services asks the question on their online form whether the listing agent is representing the Seller or both parties. Great company, and I have to imagine they pay attention to the statistics.
    • Ken. PAS does not rate or grade its agents on how many properties are "double ended". The question on the offer submittal form is asked to protect the seller by letting them know there is dual agency. This area must be checked even if another agent from your company (even if is a different brokerage) is representing the buyer. Premier does grade on number of owner occ's vs. investors however.
      As has been discussed, pocketing listings is happening and has happened for years and years. Most of the people in this group have not been in REO very long or this wouldn't be such a popular topic. I personally average dual representation about 20-25% on my listings, I don't pocket them because I personally don't think it’s the right thing to do but I push my team to get more. Our goal is 30% this year.
  • I haven't really noticed this in my area but...I did had my "previous" broker tell me not to put in certain offers because she didn't like the agent. Needless to say, I left. Unfortunately I did not tell my previous AM's because of the liability I would take on by doing so. I left, she called them up and bad mouthed me and now she kept one of my top clients. I figure they will realize what is going on there one day. Unfortunately I lost them for trying to do the right thing. I have noticed a specific agency taking on listings out of their are and not placing them in the correct MLS. They are putting them in their local MLS and listing them as out of area any sometimes our MLS will have outside area city names. AM co see's it in MLS and does not know what is going on or where it should actually be placed. Makes me want to call but I don't want to be the nag. I try hard, VERY HARD to get it done and keep it ethical. Just burns me when agents get away with these activities and the rest of us actually do the work and pay our dues. Stephanie
  • I agree with Carlos in that providing the MLS history as proof of marketing to the AM is the best way to deter the pocket listing problems. I would imagine that all MLS sytems have this feature and what a accurate picture it provides at no extra cost to the agent or the client. Eventually I would like to believe these agents will be weeded out of business or change the way they do business in order to stay in business. The playing field would once again be fair to all parties.
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