How to contact Deutsche Bank’s REO Department

Please Note : You are reading Blog #3 in a series of articles about Deutsche Bank. Please review the other articles, as they may answer any other questions you may have that this particular articles does not cover.

Part #1 The long search for a deal
Part #2 I Did It!
Part #3 How to Contact Deutsche Bank’s REO Department
Part #4 Other Notes About Deutsche Bank

*Notice – I do not work at Deutsche Bank, or any other bank*

Well , after receiving about 50+ Emails from various individuals, I figured that I’d share the information with EVERYONE instead of just keeping Deutsche Bank’s contact information to myself.

PLEASE read through the rest of the post so you’ll understand what to do when you call them.

Deutsche Bank is a BIG BANK , They’re absolutely huge, and because of this, they normally would have a huge REO Department too. Well Dutsche bank does have a big REO department, but you can’t contact them directly, I’ve been told by a few people that no matter what the REO department can’t be called from an outside source looking for information.

So, having said that, there IS a way to get information regarding REO Holdings that Deutsche Bank Has, and it’s the ONLY Source I know of to do so.

They have a call center in California that you  can contact concerning KNOWN properties that may be in their REO portfolio. Deutsche bank DOES NOT have a list of REO properties, and no matter how hard you try, you simply can NOT get a list of their properties.

Deutsche bank OUTSOURCES 99% of their REO Portfolio , that means when you’re on the various websites that list foreclosures, those websites will have Deutsche REO Assets on them, but it may vary by state. In my state of OHIO , Deutsche bank outsources to Litton Loan Servicing and First American REO Servicing. In the past they Worked with California REO Marketing, which was a great company to deal with, but unfortunately they no longer work with them. Deutsche Bank also outsources to other lenders and has them service the loans, I’ve run into HSBC, Indymac, CITI and Chase assets that Deutsche Bank has purchased, and then had them service. This can potentially break up the servicers of these properties into dozens of potential companies.

Now realize, when you contact Deutsche Bank’s REO Department, they will REQUIRE you to fax/mail a deed of trust or a mortgage assignment to their REO Department. If they can locate the particular asset, they will respond with a fax to your designated number with the SERVICING information, from then you MAY be able to contact them.

Please realize, that once you contact the servicer of the property, there is a somewhat small chance they will sell the property to you directly. Once the property is in the REO portfolio , it immediately goes out to an Asset Management company. The asset management company then usually hands the property off to a Realtor that services the area in something called a “Pre-List” Once it’s in pre-list, it’s usually locked up with that agent. It’s the agent’s job to get the property winterized, re-keyed , evict, perform a CMA , and other associated things with preparing a property for the market.

Now this doesn’t mean you can’t buy an asset from the bank without avoiding the Realtor’s commission, which is why MOST people are trying to talk to the bank directly.

What I want you to realize is that dealing with a Realtor IS NOT A COST, IT IS A BENEFIT to you as a interested party of a foreclosure.

If you take the cost breakdown of a REO property, the commission is usually one of the smaller parts of where the money goes in the transaction.

Let’s take a property that I sold in 2007 that was a REO , and I kept tabs on through the whole foreclosure process.

• Property is purchased on 10/26/2004 with a $74,000 30-yr Mortgage at a 6% Interest Rate.
• Property owner for one reason or stops mortgage payments around 8/1/2005 .
• Lender files for a foreclosure motion on 1/4/2006
• Foreclosure action , filings and things complete on 12/28/06 with a sheriff sale date
• Lender buys back property on 1/23/2007
• Lender Pre-Lists property around February 1st 2007
• Lender paid repairs take time , and property is listed for public sale March 20th 2007
• Property is put under contract quickly , and settles April 26th 2007

The whole process for the lender took a YEAR and 3 MONTHS from start to finish, here are their costs to sell the home (Some estimated, some are actual).

• $7426.90 In Lost Note Interest
• $2500 (Est) In Lender paid repairs resulting from the foreclosure
• $5000 (est) In Legal fees over the year
• $4270 In Real Estate Agent Commissions
• $1500 In Title Charges/County Transfer and other Misc Costs
• $2000 In Asset Management Costs

Now , we won’t go into the loss the bank took , but if you look at the various costs, the real estate commissions were only about 20% of the total costs to the lender. In addition , the figure I used for legal fees was VERY conservative, the legal fees could be as much as $10,000.

Now, I’m not saying you ALWAYS need to wait till it’s listed to get a deal, but what I am saying is there’s alot of headaches along the road to try and undercut ONLY save on the agent commissions.

What I want you to consider is , if you really want to get a deal, and you’re spending all this time trying to find Deutsche Bank’s REO listings before the agent gets them, you might as well learn to do owner bailouts and sidestep most of those other fees as well.

Now, if I’ve convinced you that it can be a headache to try and track down all these REO servicers, and spending alot of time. I highly recommend you let me set you personally up with a professional in your area that deals with all this REO mumbo-jumbo on a daily basis and guide you through the steps. They’ll pay for themselves quite quickly .

If you’d like to do that, Email me : Brandon.Schlichter@RealLiving.com , or if you’re in the central Ohio area, go to my website at www.RealEstateCircleville.comand contact me. It’ll be alot easier than calling asset managers all day and trying to find out who owns that one house.

Now , if I haven’t talked you out of calling Deutsche Bank’s REO department, AND you understand how the process works now….

The contact number is 714-247-6000, you will get a receptionist, ask for the “REO Hotline” and she will connect you with a voice-mail + Pre-Recorded message on instructions to fax the deed of trust/mortgage assignment to a fax number.  Once you do that, you SHOULD have the information in a day or so, I have not yet been told by individuals if they receive a response if the information is wrong. From my understanding at this time, DB will NOT contact you if the information was incorrect, you’ll just have to try again.

Please understand, this is to get information about their pre-list REO properties (Although they will most likely send information on those listed too). As of 8/7/2008 I have no means to get a human being at the REO department, I’ve had dozens of individuals email and call me on the phone to ask to speak to a live human at Deutsche bank, and so far, no one I know of has had luck.

As I’ve told many people, if you want to talk to a human being at their REO department, you will have to visit them in person.

****UPDATE****

I have had several people comment that the number I provided was invalid. I’ve tried the number 3-4 times over the past 2 days, and I’ve determined the problem……..DB Is on the WEST COST with a 3hr time difference, you can only call 9-4 M-F PST , any other times and you’ll get the recording asking for a extention. Otherwise you *should* get a live person at the bank.

Are you looking for a list of Foreclosures/REOs  If you are, I have a MASSIVE database of REO specialists all over the US that would love to give you a real-time list of what’s available in your area. Send me an email at Brandon.Schlichter@RealLiving.com and I’ll set you up with a Licensed Professional that will help.

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