When a bank lists an REO, is there a buyer's agent side at all?

Question

Getting my license, still figuring out what I'll do with it. Two REO-specific things I can't get a straight answer on from anyone local.

One, when a bank lists a repossessed house, does the listing side pay a buyer's agent the way a normal seller would, or do asset managers push you to come in unrepresented so they keep the whole thing? I was told by an instructor that REO sellers are the stingiest on co-broke and it's basically negotiated per file now.

Two, I keep seeing BPO mentioned as the entry point. Broker price opinion, drive by the house, fill out the form, get paid. Is that a real revenue line for a new licensee or is it a way to do a hundred dollars of work for thirty?

chriswalton8 · Answer

Can't help on co-broke, but the BPO numbers I've seen quoted are $50 to $125 for an exterior drive-by and more for interior, minus your gas and an hour of form-filling. The people who make it work are running six in a loop on one afternoon, which tells you something about the per-unit economics.

What I actually care about in this corner is who funds the buyers who win those REO bids, because someone is writing 10 day close checks and it isn't a retail mortgage. If you get inside an asset manager's vendor list you'd see that flow. Whether they'd tell a brand new licensee anything, I doubt...

When a bank lists an REO, is there a buyer's agent side at all?

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