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.

Did you enjoy the article? If you did, sign up to receive our blog newsletter. Get updated every time we post a new article! Find out more about REO properties, obtaining REO listings and more!
Check it out : realestatecircleville.com/newsletter.html

I figured that I would present the statistics for my area in Ohio , for reference against national averages.

History : The city of Circleville was built in the early 1800s, and flourished due to the fact that the Erie Canal traveled through the town, providing trade and the like. Our total city population is about 13,000 people living in about 10 square miles of city.

2006 Statistics

• 141 Home Sales
• 122 Days On Market Average to Sell A Home
• Average Sold Home size was 1643 Square Feet
• Average resales price was $131,824
• Price per square foot was $80.23

2007 Sales Statistics

• 138 Homes Sold
• 116 Days On Market Average to Sell
• $116,326 Average Sales Price
• 1568 Square foot on average
• $74.18 Per Square Foot Price

So , the total difference from 06 to 07 was….

• 5.17% LESS time to Sell a Home
• 2.17% Fewer Sales in 07
• Avg Home was 75 Square feet smaller in 07
• Average Sales Prices dropped 11.7%
• Price per square foot dropped 7.54%

I wanted to provide the square foot price , as it was about 4% LESS than the average sales price. People downsized it seems in 2007, which lead somewhat to the lower sales prices.

As for Pickaway County as a whole

2006 Statistics

• 466 Total Sales
• $143,521 Average Sales Price
• 111 Days On Average To Sell A Home
• Average Home sold was 1718 Square feet
• Average Price per Square Foot was $83.53

2007 Statistics

454 Total Sales
$144,838 Average Sales Price
114 Days On Average To Sell A Home
Average Home sold was 1742 Square feet
Average Price Per Square Foot Was $83.14

So the total difference from 06 to 07 was….

• 2.64% Fewer Sales
• .9% HIGHER Sales Price
• 2.7% Higher DOM
• Average home sold was 24 Square Foot Less
• Average price per square foot was ABOUT .5% less

So , what do these statistics tell us?

1. For at-least the county , this year was not a bad year in any way shape or form, sales prices on average were up, while price per square foot was down very slightly.
2. The city of Circleville did not fare as well, and priced dropped by a fair margin with any valuation
3. Overall sales for both sections fared quite well overall and shouldn’t be bulked at
4. Real estate in Central Ohio is doing much better than some of those boom markets.

Visit my personal real estate website at www.RealEstateCircleville.com

Thought that I might post about the first REO Property I purchased.

 As a real estate agent, I run across deals all the time in my area.

I live in the small town of Circleville Ohio. Home prices are generally strong in terms of appreciation , although our median price is much lower than many other areas in the US.

Our median price is around $125,000 , the home was purchased in a area where median prices are $80,000 to $90,000 and consisting mostly of 3 bedroom , turn of the century homes.

The home was not listed on any local MLS systems, because the property was listed by an out of town broker. This gave me an advantage overall because most real estate agents weren’t aware of it. The property was an HSBC bank REO asset, and in general I knew their policies as I’ve worked with them in the past concerning loss mitigation.

The property was listed at $47,900 , and originally listed at $54,900 , it had been on the market for around 3 months total.

The property had a tarp over the complete roof, the few agents I did talk to said “Well, that home has leaks in the roof, no one will buy it”.

Thankfully after consulting with agents I know in the area, I estimated that the roof WAS NOT in bad shape, and we put an offer on the home.

We successfully purchased the home for $46,000 with about $1,750 in seller paid closing costs.

All in all , we spent about $3,000 in repairs to the property. We installed new carpet, laminate floor and baseboards. We also painted throughout , installed a new water heater, replaced gas-lines and patched the holes in the roof caused by nailing the tarp to the roof. Total rehab time was about a month and a half (This was wayyy longer than needed).

I learned from the first property to:

Have contractors lined up for repairs to the property, even if you don’t expect certain repairs, they might come up in the mean time.

GET UTILITIES TRANSFERRED THE DAY OF CLOSING! We had an awful time since we did not transfer them from HSBC to myself after closing , instead we waited about 5 days to start the process.

Know as much as you can about home repair and doing small jobs before you buy a REO property! You’ll save A LOT of money by knowing how to patch drywall, fix small plumbing leaks, and cleaning out the furnace. We spent about $500 we didn’t have to, that could of been fixed with a little know-how and a couple of hours.

What was the outcome? We now own a rental property that brings in $675 per month and it’s in BETTER condition than when I rented it out, good tennants are GREAT to have.

On the open market I would expect it to bring about $75,000 to $80,000 should I choose to market it via MLS and all the normal means.

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.

Thought I’d share some insight with REO properties and the like.

 I’ve been receiving emails pretty consistently from people who would like to purchase foreclosures from major banks like Deutsche Bank , INDYMAC , Freddie Mac , Fannie Mae and the other big boys.

 Now ,the biggest reason for someone wanting to buy a REO property is the cost savings of one.

The normal process of REOs in my area is

1. Owner becomes delinquent on current mortgage
2. Lender files complaint against homeowner/mortgagor
3. Court decides in lender’s favor if there’s no response from homeowner
4. Court hands property over to be auctioned off at courthouse
5. Property MAY be purchased by buyers, or they may be purchased back by the lender (Most likely)
6. Bank begins the pre-list process
7. Bank delivers property to either a AM company which in turns gives it to a Realtor to market, a auctioneer or they attempt to find a buyer themselves.

Now , the property can be purchased during almost every step of this process , it just changes on who you have to deal with. Risks change through the whole process, some points being VERY high ,and some being low, I will not attempt to get into deed-in-lieu deals or anything like that.

Now, once it has been taken back by the lender ,they (normally) send a real estate agent, and/or an appraiser to the property to assess the value of the property.

Most of the time, the agent or appraiser will factor in the condition , neighborhood and as many factors as possible to give the bank a 30,60, or 90 day sale. Homes WILL SELL QUICKLY if they’re priced right, I’ve seen homes that are caving in sell very quickly if they were priced correctly.

Banks USUALLY will look at a listing price reduction after about 45 days or so if it has not had an adequate amount of activity.

All these things can be beneficial when buying a home for investment or personal use.

 Now the pitfalls I’ve run in to with purchasing a property……….

Unknown property conditions-With residential property, when a owner-occupant sells it, you have someone that has SOME information on the property. How long things have been owned , wear and tear , the location of plumbing and many other things can be described by a homeowner, and the new purchaser has at-least some insight on how things are. With a bank owned property, the only information you can gather (Most times) is from inspectors, and they won’t always know everything about the property. Asking neighbors is a good thing to consider when looking at the property, because there’s some things that are seasonal that can happen to a property like leakage, flooding ,etc.

 Financing – I had this issue on the last REO property I sold, the lender (who hadn’t told me) who was working with the buyer on a property hadn’t told me what the appraiser needed. The electricity in the property had been off for a while, which had caused some water in the basement (Sump-Pump was off). The appraiser noted this, and we had to have a structural engineer come out and certify that the foundation wasn’t damaged from the water. Of course, the water had been in there for 1-2 days and did not cause any damage. The engineer cost was $350 to the buyer which could of been prevented by the lender informing me that the power should be on. We also had to have the property re-inspected, and found out the furnace did not work. These were all things that dragged out the closing another week to 10 days, and cost the buyer $350 in additional fees. I was able to fix the furnace for buyer (Thankfully) so we avoided additional cost to the buyer.

 Delays in Closing -If you ask many REO listing agents, you’ll know they’re swamped with business, and the asset management companies they work with are even more swamped than they are. As a buyer, you need to know that the time-frame of purchasing the property is in the asset management company & lenders hands, not the buyer. Most of my closings have been delayed by one reason or another with an REO property, banks also take quite some time on responding to offers and general inquiries.

These are the problems with REOs I’ve run into in the past few months, in 2007 about 75% of my business was REO related.

View my Real Estate website at www.RealEstateCircleville.com and learn about Foreclosures in Central Ohio.

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.

As you may know, there’s a fair deal of conversation as well as controversy surrounding real estate , the markets and the like.

 One of the age old thoughts and debates has been over Selling By Owner , AKA FSBO.

 Most people who I’ve talked to who have decided selling themselves have decided on doing so for one of two reasons. MOST of them decide on doing it for the first reason only (About 90% of those I talk to).

 #1 To Save The Commission

#2 Because they don’t like agents

Realtors in general have a statement about FSBO selling, backed by a NAR Statistic…..FSBOs net 16% LESS Than Realtors according to a 2006 Study of the field.

I’ve run in to many individuals who do not believe this statistic. Some of the individuals are real estate agents as well.

 So, I was curious myself to see if this statistic stacks up in my area (Circleville and the surrounding area).

 So,  I took the ONLY area I knew of in Pickaway county or Circleville that’s easy to get information on , one I’ve worked in, and had relationships with people selling themselves, and agents who also sold property.

I picked Logan Elm Village for my study.

Logan Elm Village is a older subdivision outside of Circleville, consisting of about 400 homes.

The reason I picked Logan Elm Village is because about 90% of the homes there for sale are 3br 1ba homes with 1008  square feet, a 1 car garage ,and .15 acres of land.

So , in 2006 , I took as MANY homes as I could starting in March-April and did a study. This is a apples to apples comparison, also I’m not including the address of the home for privacy’s sake.

The FSBOS

#1 Pawnee Drive  $104,900 Grade A+ Condition(104,000)    DOM 90

#2 Souix Drive $109,900  Grade A+ Condition (107,500)      DOM 135

#3 Shoshoni     $90,000* Grade B- Condition (87,500)      Unknown DOM

Agent Listed Properties

#1 Chickasaw $112,000 Grade B-Condition(109,000) DOM 141

#2 Shoshoni $124,900 Grade A+ (121,900)  DOM 140

#3 Chippewa $110,900 Grade A (114,000)  DOM 84

#4 Apache $112,000 Grade A (108,000)    DOM 27

 * Estimated

Now, if you take all the numbers and figure out the averages, you’re looking at….

 FBOS Avg Sales Price $99,960  with a marketing time of about 112,500

Agent Listed sales price of $113,225 with a marketing time of 98 days.

So, if you take the numbers, for the area on average Agents average a 12% shorter marketing time with a 11.75% higher resale value on average.

The numbers are nothing to scoff at really. I know I had viewed most of the properties in this figure, and the amazing thing was, FSBO #1 and #2 would of easily sold for $115,000 each , and when it comes to it, number #1 was NICER than #2 ,even though it sold for $3,500 LESS than it.

I figured that I would post a little bit of information about Real Estate in my small hometown of Circleville Ohio.

If you’ve never been to Circleville, you should come, especially in October, because that’s when we have our yearly Pumpkin Show.

 Circleville’s current population is in the area of 12,000 , but around the pumpkin show time, we pack everyone in. Last year, it was estimated that 500,000-600,000 people came to the pumpkin show. Many city blocks are converted to areas with rides, food venues and games.

 As for Real Estate in Circleville …….

Ohio is very wonderful in the sense that our economy concerning real estate is much different than the “Hot” markets that once were on the East and West Coasts. As a whole , our market AT MOST has seen a 15% yearly appreciation with a 3-5% per year being much more common.

 This year, the overall real estate market in the US has been very noteworthy in it’s apparent “Demise”.

Our market however is quite different.

 Pickaway county this year has only seen a reduction in sales of about 1% this year as compared to last. Overall , our house prices up until October were UP $500 from last year. Of course, this is only about 1/3rd of a percent, but when some markets in the US have seen 20% and even 30% reductions in the average price, this is great.

 Real estate in Circleville is quite varied , and the county even more so. In our county, you can go from $3,000/acre land up to $250,000 land EASILY per acre due to location. Areas of our county have seen a good appreciation rate (While overall we’re about the same and a entire county.)

Please Note : You are reading Blog #2 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

Well , it seems like I “Finally” Cracked the Deutsche bank REO Code….I didn’t realize how LONG of a process it was to find out who is servicing a Deutsche bank REO.

 If you’ve ever looked for a Deutsche REO property , you very well may of run into a brick wall it seems. That’s the same position I had till I had the 5th person call me on the phone about my various blog posts about THIS specific bank.

 If you’d like to know the who to call (And it’s only a few phone calls) to find out more information on that special REO property. Give me an email at brandon.schlichter@realliving.com and I’ll not only give you the information , but HELP you out!

 Now that I’ve got THAT out of the way ,here’s how my story ends, or at-least is to this day.

 The DB Asset that I’d been dealing with that was purchased from INDYMAC bank last month was BACK at INDYMAC’s REO division. I found out it wasn’t REO yet , but a non-performing loan. Now that I know it is currently a non-performing loan, it’s much easier to deal with than the long drawn out process of trying to find a website with information.

Lessons Learned that you can benefit from.

#1 DB Does NOT have a website that lists their foreclosures

#2 DB Does sell REOs to buyers directly, but there are HUGE pitfalls to this

#3 (I already knew this) CONSULT THE APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL, otherwise when dealing with these the wrong way you can end up in much debt.

#4 Calling a bank and waiting for hours is tedious, but the prize at the end may well be worth it.

I’ll be posting more information about this later, and maybe the contact information for DB as well. Unfortunately , to explain it all I have to type MUCH more than is in either DB Post.

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.

Thanks for reading!

Brandon E. Schlichter

HER Real Living

Circleville, Ohio

740-571-1606

brandon@realestatecircleville.com

www.realestatecircleville.com

Well , today for one reason or another, I’ve managed to spend a good deal of time trying to track down a foreclosed property that Deutsche Bank owns in one of it’s portfolios.

 If you don’t know who Deutsche Bank is , or what REOs are , I’ll do a little education.

Deutsche Bank is a VERY large German bank , they have branches all over the world, and the US is one of the larger markets they have. They’re pretty big in buying loans that are originated from other mortgage originators.

 REO Means Real Estate owned , it’s what a bank terms a Foreclosure that is in one stage or another in their portfolio. They’ve taken the property back and are in the process of liquidating it.

DB is a large bank….VERY large , relatively rural area of Ohio , they seem to be the plaintiff in about 5-6 foreclosure cases per month. That’s a lot when you consider we have maybe 40-50 foreclosure filings per month.

Even though DB is so big, and they do control a very large portion of the market in loans, they have most likely one of the worst systems for locating their properties.

DB outsources all of their properties, and they will go USUALLY to litton loan servicing, which in turns outsources them to several REO asset management companies. These companies are the ones that “Give” The listings over to a real estate agent in the area to market, and find a buyer for the property.

 Quite a few investors and the like TRY to purchase the properties before they are listed with a real estate company. Some times, the properties are winterized by the agent’s crew, and various work done on the property. If a person were to buy a property from DB directly , they may save something along the lines of 5%-6% regarding the comission. 

 Having said you could save on the commission, everyone needs to realize that the properties most times are priced out by agents that work the market. REO assets are usually priced on a schedule that one, or several real estate agents set.

 For instance, you could have a property that starts at $100,000. At 30 or 45 day intervals, it drops a % of the purchase price till it’s sold. I personally have seen some (Low) properties sell for 35% of the origional list price. It’s possible to get a “Deal” on a REO property, but you NEED to be realistic about things. If the listing agent was good or at-least the person that priced the property was, they will take in to account the market, the condition and location of the property.

Sometimes there may be factors outside of the  normal scope of things the agent may of picked up on that could become a pitfall for a buyer/investor.

 Be careful when you look at anything and always have the appropriate people inspect the property. It’s one thing to get a deal, and another to buy something you think is a deal and find out the foundation is caving in.

http://www.realestatecircleville.com/foreclosures.html

This post is part of the Stickball Series of Posts : This is part #7 of the series.

To view the other posts in this section :

Movies 1-4
Movies 5-8
Movies 1a-5a
Movies 10-12
Final Movies
TWiBs 2 – The Tournament

This is the 7th section of movies I developed. I decided I would post the “Big” movie by itself

This was the BIG movie, it took me 3 months of work to publish one movie that was 10 minutes long. This movie had about 20,000 views in the first few days. It was a great success and I always look back on it and smile, as it was definitely the best work of all my movies.

This post is part of the Stickball Series of Posts : This is part 6 of the series.

To view the other posts in this section :

Movies 1-4
Movies 5-8
Movies 1a-5a
Movies 10-12
Final Movies
TWiBs 2 – The Tournament

This is the 6th section of movies I developed, Most of these were the final movies before the series was ended/abandoned.

For about a year prior to this movie, we had a major problem at a local field with players purposely cheating the chrono to raise velocities. Whether people realize it or not, the 300FPS limit is imposed due to the fact that anything higher will break a human finger upon impact at close ranges.

This was just a fun little movie I put together about the stupidity of some of the individuals I know to repair their equipment.

This is one of my absolute favorite movies, it reminds me (and many) of the good ol days of AOL : Paintball chat. The days of dozens of newbies talking smack are long gone, but we can remember and shine in the light of this testament to AOL : Paintball.

This was the last movie of the Stickballmovies.com series, we had run a contest for paintball stories. In the contest, whoever had the funniest story won, and this was the winning story! Very little was modified from the original story ,with the exception of the fact the team mentioned did win the tourney in the end (They had to max another game to make it to the semis, which they did).