3 Reasons Your REO Properties MIGHT Not Be Moving
With selling prices low, and some banks willing to take almost any offer to get the property off their books, you’d think it would be hard NOT to sell your REO properties as soon as you put them on the market. However, some agents find new and unique ways to screw up a good thing. Check yourself to make sure none of the following three reasons aren’t contributing to your lack of REO property sales.
1. Clean. Some real estate agents are spoiled, a characteristic you can’t afford if you want to transact REO properties. Back in the old days, when agents used to walk ten miles uphill in a blizzard both ways just to get to work, no realtor’s car left the office without a vacuum cleaner, Windex, and Ajax in the trunk. It really all comes down to this: If you don’t clean it, who’s going to? Certainly not the bank. REO is a different sort of beast and you’re going to have to change your methods accordingly to be successful at it.
2. Colors and smells. Pampering the eyes and nose can do a lot to overcome what a potential buyer sees with an REO property. Face it, some of these sad sack pieces of real estate are in sorry shape. While you can’t do a complete overhaul, you can spiff up the appeal to these two senses. Red attracts attention. Yellow exudes warmth and coziness. Try adding flowers with these colors to the landscape. It doesn’t have to be expensive and just might get a car to stop and look that would have kept on driving.
3. Smells. Some REO homes are possessed of genuinely funky odors. It doesn’t matter what it looks like – a rotten, mildew odor can drive off the most determined bargain seeker. It would be a shame to lose a commission on something so easily remedied. Head down to the dollar store and load up on air fresheners, which you should change often if the smell is especially virulent. And don’t forget the value of a freshly brewed pot of coffee sitting on the counter. Even non-drinkers often have a positive association with the smell.
Will a few bunches of flowers and pot of coffee transform your REO career instantly into streets paved with gold Uh, probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? Often the biggest of deals hinges on attention to the smallest of details.
The Bonus Commissions Team
Flickr / Reiner Schubert