These REOs are providing some great entertainment - here are some of the highlights:

#1 - We saw the high-dollar Valley Center house lacking in curb appeal, but that is one of two I've been assigned in the area.  The other REO is a manufactured home on 1.1 acres on a hill with a great view of Palomar Mountain.  So good, apparently, the sellers have had a hard time leaving.

The first visit found the house vacant, but the garage was full of tools.  Good enough, send the crew in to change the locks, which they did.  When I came back to verify that the house was secure, I found the doors open, a dog inside the house, and a suitcase spread eagle on the kitchen island.

OK, so the guy came back for his tools - I called the sheriff for a drive-by and was on my way.  The next visit was what you'd expect, the tools were all gone, and so was the dog and suitcase.  Great, let's get busy on selling!

I stopped by yesterday on my way to the other REO, thinking I'd find the clean-up crew complete and ready to sell.  Instead, I found a bed, a television, and a dining room set with six chairs moved back into the house!  The house was secure, so the intruder had to break in or force a window open.  Why are you moving back in - some ploy to extend occupancy?  The neighbors had told me that the owners had moved to Arizona, and could it be the kid? 

They left a check for $100 on the front door for the gardener, for May's service.  I callled the sheriff and waited for him to arrive to file a formal B&E report.  We talked about real estate, and then he helped me move the goodies out to the patio - where I left a nasty gram for the intruder, encouraging him to never come back.

About 30 minutes later I get a call from a realtor who wants to show and sell my new VC listing - turns out it's the sheriff's wife!

She was nice about it, and could very well be the agent who sells it, for all I know. 

#2 - One house that is tenant-occupied had an interesting fraud case behind it.  Kelly at the Voice of SD is covering it, so I won't steal her thunder, but it's the typical buy-the-house-and-rent-it-but-don't-make-the-payments package.  The tenants get caught in the middle, and when they asked if C-wide would let them stay until mid-July so they could testify, C-wide said OK (the perp is in jail awaiting trial).

#3 - The cash-for-keys program is loosey-goosey, to say the least.  The first owners that agreed to vacate in two weeks, in exchange for the $2,500, and left last week as agreed.  Nothing yet from Countrywide - no calls, no emails, no responses to the daily messages I left for the party in charge - and no cash or check.  Not a good sign, so far.

#4 - I have run into a couple of 'foreclosure consultants' - agent-type people who negotiate on behalf on the foreclosed borrowers.  They don't exactly 'negotiate', they just tell them that some old fat guy is going to knock on their door some day and offer cash-for-keys - take them up on it.  Not sure yet how much the 'consultation fee' is for such sage advice, but I've at least enrolled them into getting the required signatures for me.

#5 - We're up to six offers in on the Securidad property, and the Countrywide asset manager was right on it today.  Any time you hear that it takes days or weeks to get a response, look at the listing agent as much as the banker.  We counter-offered all buyers to submit their highest and best offer, and we agreed that FHA offers are discouraged.  There are extra fees that the sellers must pay on behalf of the buyer, plus the appraiser has to identify repairs that the seller is then required to fix.

#6 - The former owners aren't all taking advantage - of the 20 I've been assigned, six of them were vacant on day one, and three others have left since.  Another four have chose the cash-for-keys program, so only 7 of 20 are choosing eviction.  No problem, you better enjoy the free rent while you can, because trying to rent with a recent eviction on your record won't be easy.

We agree that we'll go broke working REOs only, and the only reason to do it is to be there when it moves up the food chain.  Stay tuned!