Hiring REO Listing Agents can be the responsibility of Trustees, Lenders and Loan Servicers, and Asset Managers.
Is it worth tracking down Trustees and Lenders to try to get their REO Listings?
An REO Listing Agent seeking to increase assignments is smart to have an idea who is in charge of Hiring REO Listing Agents and If they can be tracked down by reviewing Trust Deeds and Locating Foreclosing Lenders. The answer is largely no because a lot of the Asset Management work is outsourced, handled by third parties. This information is also useful to Buyers who are trying to figure out if they can purchase a particular foreclosure.
- A Non-Judicial Foreclosure Trustee or Appointed Successor Trustee
A Trustee conducts a non-judicial foreclosure. Trustees have the authority to foreclose on an asset to pay off the debt in the event the borrower defaults on their loan and the asset is the collateral. The Trustee formally processes a foreclosure; they are a neutral party to the lender and the borrower. The Trustee carries out the formal foreclosure action in compliance with State law. Even though the Trustee has a fiduciary duty to both lender and borrower, the Trustee is selected by the Lender. The selected Trustee is recorded on the Trust Deed. If a selected Trustee does not have experience in processing foreclosures, they will likely appoint a Successor Trustee to carry out a non-judicial foreclosure. A Trustee can be a Company or an Individual, often an Attorney or Title Company. Trustees can be in charge of hiring REO Listing Agents, or they can have an Asset Management Department or an outside Company that they hire to handle the hiring of REO disposition of REO Foreclosure Assets.
Agents who are trying to track down Trustees who will be Hiring REO Listing Agents. It is possible to create relationships with an in-house Asset Manager. However, tracking down who they might as an outside company can vary by circumstance and location.
The Lender who had to foreclose may be the Investor of the loan, or they can just be servicing the loan for the investor. Once the foreclosure is complete, you can review the updated Trustees Deed to find the investing Lender. However, this information is not useful because they likely have an REO department, or they have an outside Asset Management Company to handle the disposition of their foreclosure assets.
Agents who are trying to track down Lenders/Servicers who will be hiring REO Listing Agents themselves. Small local lenders may have their Asset Managers in-house, and it can be a good use of an REO Broker’s time, to try to win their REO Listing business. Larger banks are likely outsourcing their Asset Management work, and likely using Many different Asset Management Companies that vary by location. Because the big productive REO Listing Agents will likely not be pursuing small accounts, this can be a less competitive environment for a new REO Agent to use to fatten their REO Resume and get recommendations.
Asset Managers can work within a department of a Trustees company, they can work within a department of a Lending or Servicing Company, and they can be an Independent Company hired by Trustees, Lenders, and Servicers. Outside companies that handle hiring REO Listing Agents can be most fruitful because they can handle the REO Assets from MANY different sources.
If you are a Listing Agent trying to Find those Hiring REO Listing Agents, it is important to know this about the information recorded on a Deed of Trust:
A Trustee can appoint a Third Party Trustee to process a foreclosure, so locating the Trustee named on a Trust Deed can prove useless.
A Lender will likely outsource the servicing of their loans, so locating the Lender on the Deed can prove useless.
Complete your resume and send required documentation in to REO listing agent applications
Further, if a Loan is backed by the government, the foreclosure could ultimately be handled by Freddie Mae, Ginny Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Veterans Administration.
