REO LISTINGS: BEWARE OF SCAMS
This is a HUGELY irritating issue that is becoming more prevalent. Scammers claiming to give you REO listings for a membership fee and more scams. Mike Krein recently created this video for the members of the NRBA exclusively, but realized it needed to be made public as a PSA for ALL agents and brokers to help put a stop to these scammers. Here are some highlights of this episode of Tune in Tuesday for the NRBA through Free Broker School:
- 00:00:43 – NRBA members have been taught how to spot scams.
- 00:01:15 – How do scams survive?
- 00:01:30 – Be careful who you mention if you run across a scam. They may actually be able to sue you.
- 00:02:28 – Give Mike a call if you suspect one.
- 00:02:50 – How to spot a scam: 1. Money up front. No legitimate company will charge you an app fee or to be added to their database.
- 00:03:30 – Google the company – look for message boards and reviews about the company – check those reviews to make sure they aren’t fake – are the resources reliable?
- 00:04:10 – REO message boards contain a lot of whining, but they also whine about scammers.
- 00:04:25 – NRBA members have access to an approved client list that is updated daily.
- 00:05:00 – look at their website – this is the best tell. Check domain name registration to see how recent. Scam companies are pretty new.
- 00:05:45 – just because they list a bunch of logos, doesn’t mean they have relationships with those companies.
- 00:06:00 – Should have a legitimate list of employees, bios, photos and individual emails.
- 00:06:30 – Contact forms only and no real email – all “contact@, info@, REO@” probably a scam site.
- 00:07:00 – Google the office address on the site. Where is it? A house? PO Box? Still need a physical address.
- 00:08:00 – Have a local friend DRIVE BY the address.
- 00:08:16 – Legitimate companies have real people answering the phone – not an answering service or voicemail. Individuals, perhaps, but someone should answer the main line during regular hours.
- 00:08:50 – If they leave you a number, try to TEXT the number to see if their “main” number is a cellphone. If it goes through, it’s most likely a cellphone and not legitimate.
- 00:09:30 – Look at the company name. If it has REO in the name, the bulk do NOT have this in the name – Foreclosure, shortsale, REO are viewed as negative terms.
- 00:10:15 – Names may be similar to familiar company names – verify it’s really them.
- 00:10:45 – If they list staff, you should recognize a lot of the names. NRBA members know the bulk of these folks. People in this incestuous industry stay in it – they just move around. Give them a call and reconnect to verify they have moved to that company. Great way to open a conversation. If you don’t recognize anyone – red flag! Check them out on LinkedIn – they should have legitimate profiles.
- 00:12:10 – the scammers have gotten smarter. They know the terminology, buzz terms and more. They know the patter.
- 00:12:30 – they will give you a property address of a property in foreclosure to ask you to do a BPO. Be careful.
- 00:13:15 – The money back guarantee is crazy. What asset manager can guarantee you ANYTHING. Very few know what’s coming up. “Oh we have stuff in your area..” ask them HOW they know this.
- 00:14:40 – variations – guaranteed assignment with money-back guarantee. Sure, they give you a $50 BPO order and they’ve met their obligation. $300 to “join” – $50 BPO – they net $250.
- 00:15:38 – If you are unsure, ask the NRBA – better yet JOIN the NRBA to always know. Legitimate clients are listed on the NRBA site for members only to access. If they aren’t on the list, well, there’s your answer. We won’t badmouth anyone.
- 00:16:50 – A sucker born every minute. New agents just don’t know better.
- 00:17:00 – why do they do it? They are scumbags and make money being scumbags.
- 00:17:40 – NRBA members have the skills and knowledge to set this up, but they lack the scumbag requirement.
- 00:18:00 – You can send to a list of 1 million for a couple of thousand. Think about it. If you get 1:20 or 1:100 – that’s still a ton of money and very profitable. That’s why they do it. Scums.
- 00:18:50 – because there is another wave of REO coming, it’s a great scenario for this scam.
- 00:19:40 – There will be a lot more coming during this next wave, be on alert.
- 00:20:00 Let’s shut these people down!
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