I agree Rt.66, with some caveats. I don’t know the OP’s level of sophistication, but most piggies know the game enough to pull off an REO unrepresented, however most people should not try it. Reo agents play by the book, some just have a secret book, it’s called having that unrepresented client shifted to their friend/associate/relative so it looks like an independant two sided deal. This only applies to first day listed REO’s and it is worth it to have a pro take a look see at your deal and paperwork for a set fee, but it needs to be set up in advance and done within minutes.
Waitinghawk reported similar experiences, but in my journey, especially with a few houses that got away, if you had a realtor, your offer never made it to the seller in those first few critical days, they stall them for the legal amount of time, 24 or 48 hours, they ignore the fax machine and get their pocket buyer in first, even if it’s a lower offer.
It may be risky, it may be illegal, it is definately unscrupulous. But I made about a dozen offers in 2008 and at least three times i personally stood in a driveway with the listing agent and was told that if I went with their associate, they would make sure my offer was the only one seen for a day or two and sometimes the bank just takes it if it is at or above list, they thwart the bidding war. One time I decided to do it but within ten minutes another buyer did the same thing with the listing agent, there were 10+ offers the first day but it was really just between me and the other pocket buyer, who bid more than I was willing to. I was glad i didn’t win (that house wasn’t right for me), i needed a long shower to make the icky feeling go away. In the end I still went unrepresented but went with a high volume, no games or cheating listing agent and felt better but it took work on my part and some luck. It also helped to be out shopping around this time of year, during the holidays. But it does happen, probably 25% of the time there’s a backdoor game going on.
In no way does my agreeing with rt.66 endorse any kind of permission for a fued between him and any realtors, I only participated because there were no insults hurled thus far, let’s keep it that way.
