MURRIETA/TEMECULA/MENIFEE CA. REAL ESTATE - CAMERON WILSON

 Most Multiple Listing Services (MLS) we all use across the country has a section only visible to Realtors for the listing agent to make comments about the property and in some instances you will see terms to present offers. With all the Real Estate Owned (REO) properties on the market at this time many agents and buyers are becoming frustrated with the Banks and the REO agents when trying to get offers accepted and many accusations have been made that things are not being done in a fair and ethical manner but some of the frustration can be overcome by simply reading the comments section on the MLS.

 Recently I listed a REO property in Murrieta Ca. and Immediately the property was input into the MLS with instructions on presenting offers stating: When sending offers send only the 8 page Purchase Contract, Agency Disclosure, Pre-Qual Letter, Copy of Deposit Check at this time. The reason for this is in California by the time we add all the disclosures required to use it adds up to 30 plus pages and the banks will sign off on the state required disclosures with the accepted offer but they are not needed at the time the offer is presented. When the instructions are followed the initial offer will only be 12 pages including the cover page.

 We received 5 offers on the property in Murrieta as it was priced to sell but the frustrating thing is 4 of the agents ignored the comments section and each sent in excess of 30 pages to us  to sort thru so we could then upload the offers into the computer and send them to the bank. That is a total of 138 pages when all we needed was 12 pages with each offer for a total of 60 pages.

 We all get frustrated in this market but sometimes it can be avoided by simple things like reading the agent comments section on the MLS.

 Three weeks ago I was assigned a foreclosed property in the La Cresta area of Murrieta Ca. by the bank that now owns it and the first thing a bank always asks is the property occupied and if not do a BPO  ( Broker Price Opinion) and then a price will be set according to estimated value. No problem right? Wrong.

 When working with a bank owned property (REO) the agent is the eyes for the bank and I am always honest with my evaluations and very thorough in the documentation of my opinion of value and this property was no different than the rest so the bank set the price on June 2nd and it's time to get it sold. On June the 5th my partner submitted an offer she wrote on this house to the bank, as our marketing does produce results, but in the meantime I showed the property to another potential buyer and guess what we discovered while we were there? A potential settling crack in the slab foundation!!!

  When a BPO is done on a property we cannot check every square inch of a home even if the inspection is thorough and this potential problem is located in the master bedroom underneath some nice Berber carpet in a corner but if it is really a settling crack about 1/2 inch deep it does and will affect the value of the home. Overlooked during initial inspection but tomorrow I must inform the Asset Manager for the bank to see what they want to do about this as it is my Fiduciary Responsibility to report any known facts that I know about this property and all properties I represent.

 Those of you who work REO have you ever had anything similar happen to you after you have submitted your BPO and what was the result when you informed the Asset Manager?

 The buyer with the submitted offer will be informed of this potential problem.