NFSTI Certified REO Specialist Logo
According to Daniel Waterman, CEO of NFSTI (The National Foreclosure Sales Training Institute), the most common statement he hears is "I keep trying to get the REO listings. I apply online. I send a resume of our company. I submit a nice marketing packet. But still we get no response." This, of course, is the plea of thousands of licensed real estate professionals around the nation. NFSTI has taken it upon themselves to unveil this enigma of an industry and offer the latest and most effective tips to their audience on how to acquire the elusive REO listing.
It's 2003 and cities like Phoenix, Scottsdale, Las Vegas, Stockton, and Miami are flourishing. Real Estate seems to be endlessly increasing in value, interest rates are at all-time lows, and the Bush Administration wants every US citizen to own a home. Everyone in the real estate industry enjoyed the highs of the 2003 market. Everyone, except Denverites that is. While the rest of the nation enjoyed the skyrocketing real estate life Denver, Colorado was experiencing a different effect - a downward trend.
During the downtrodden years in Denver a handful of savvy real estate agents learned of a rare trade called REO, or Real Estate Owned by Lender. REO was a lot of work for a lot less commission than most were accustomed to. There were Broker Price Opinions - a 3-10 page report that resembles an appraisal to assist a lender in determining the current market value of a home. There were the unkempt properties that reeked of mold, mildew and other unmentionable scents. And then there were the evictions. Having to watch as a family lost their home amidst onlookers, sheriffs, and trash-out crews. REO was considered less-than-desirable by most.
Fast-forward to 2007 and we begin to see that the foreclosure trend is affecting more than just Colorado. First California felt the effect of loans adjusting to beyond reasonable monthly payments. Then Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and the list goes on. RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com)
NFSTI was created through the early Colorado years of REO. While working knee-deep in the Denver REO market Daniel Waterman began to realize that this was not an isolated event. Soon, he said to himself, this would infect cities throughout the nation and there would be no reasonable method to get up-to-speed with this niche of the real estate trade. During the early years of NFSTI (then called UniversalREO)
To date NFSTI has over 2000 members who pay an annual membership of $57.00 to have an all-access pass to the www.NFSTI.com website, customer support, technical support, and a certification. The website walks agents through the process of breaking into the REO industry, setting up an REO company, points them to all of the best resources on the web to aid them in their business, and more. NFSTI has studied the various models of training and education and feels that several models should be made available in order to adapt to various learner types. For instance, some learners absorb material better visually so there are videos for them to watch. Other learners learn best through reading so there are manuals available for them to download.
One of the most underestimated and under-taught aspects of the REO business is the use of technology. This is where NFSTI really shines. Where there are other REO training institutions that are bigger and have a larger platform, NFSTI really excels at capturing the technology of the web 2.0 movement. Web 2.0, a term coined in the early 2000's, is defined by Wikipedia (a product of Web 2.0) as "a perceived second generation of web development and design, that facilitates communication, secure information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and applications;
If you'd like to learn more about NFSTI, please visit www.nfsti.com. NFSTI is currently offering live courses around the nation at specially discounted rates that make it hard to pass up. Registration for the courses can be found on the NFSTI website. Customer service is available Monday - Friday from 8-5 Eastern Standard Time.
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