EMERGENCY!! Confused about agents, about to sign!!

[David Sirmons]

I've been working with a standard Re-Max agent to give me REO listings and make offers. She recently told me the prices of the REO properties on the lists are as close to bottom as they can get. I've been making offers @ 2/3rds of the list prices, but have no way to verify if she has actually been submitting my offers. She does tell me that other offers are accepted over mine however.
Should I sever all ties with her and get a strictly 'buyer's agent' or just stick with her? I have FOUR offers currently written up by her awaiting my signature and I fear that she may simply be trying to nudge me toward higher prices/offers for her own benefit. Please give guidance asap!

[J Scott]

David -

Are you offering on properties that have just hit the market? Or have these properties been sitting for a while?

If they're new to the market (and if your area is like mine), it's unlikely you'll be able to get them for any less than about 90% of list price.

That said, if you're making offers on properties that have been sitting for 30, 60, 90, or more days, the banks start to get a bit more flexible. I routinely make offers on properties that have been sitting for 3-6 months at 50-70% of list price, and it's not uncommon that I'll at least get a counter-offer from the bank.

So, consider how many days the property has been on market before you start to think about what the bank may or may not settle for.