How do I find out a bank's REO portfolio?

[Jacob Casarez]

I heard on a podcast awhile back about an investor seeking out bank's REO portfolio's often from a bank officer or president. This is a strategy that I would like to look into for my next deal. What is the best way to reach out to a bank/lender to seek this information?

[David Dey]

Originally posted by @Jacob Casarez:

@Ned Carey How can I get access to them before they reach agents? There is a way to develop rep ore with small banks/institutions to be on a "calling list", etc to allow them to present the deal to me, especially if I give them the opportunity to finance it 👍

 Now that you can do with most banks in a reverse engineering way, but it will take much more elbow grease.  (Research wise)

This is a strategy that can be used to build ones own "pocket listings." 

As you may already know, the only way you can usually get an "unfair" advantage over your competition is if you have an agent feeding you pocket listings that he has kept for his special buyers. (I'm not saying this is ethical or even legal, I'm just saying it happens every day)

The issue with this situation is that no one realtor gets all the REO listings, (a safeguard the banks have put in place to stop these types of shinanigans) so most times you are forced to compete with everyone else for the deal once it's on the MLS.

The other issue is, of course, the agent will also have made their recommendation via BPO as to the amount that list price should be, so the bank will not initially accept much less than list price.

So the key is to get to the agent before they do their BPO.  This is where you're elbow grease will come into play.

1) Do a name search in the clerk of courts/register of deeds for deeds going to the bank of your choice within the last month.  Ex: Wells Fargo.

Obviously, banks are not in the habit of buying properties so you know that 99.9% of the time, a deed to the bank will be the final stage of a foreclosure, thus making that house an REO.

2) Now you realize that there is usually a 2-3 month window of time where the subject property you have chosen from your list of deeds is in limbo with the bank.  This is your time to strike.  

Call the bank and get to their REO Dept. As someone already mentioned in a post earlier, they will not sell it to you, but will refer you to the agent they have assigned it to. The cool thing is, if you have timed it right, you will now know who the agent is before the agent himself knows. This is how you are now able to influence the BPO and create for yourself your own pocket listing.

3)  Reach out to the realtor and inform him that he will be getting a listing on the subject property, and that you are willing to buy the property cash, using the realtor as both  the listing and selling agent, for a certain price.  (Don't be ridiculous about the price as there is only so far they can influence the BPO since the bank has probably ordered one before as well as getting the agents opinion)

4) Rinse and repeat.