Agents advised to keep ‘bank-owned’ quiet

Looking to buy a home, but not sure you want one that fell into foreclosure?

Good luck finding out before you tour the property.

It’s a little-known fact that Wells Fargo Bank’s Premier Asset Services division, which sells bank-owned homes, instructs agents who sell these houses to list the owner as “Owner of Record,” and not Wells Fargo. Premier Asset Services also sells homes owned by other banks.

The Multiple Listing Service, which is used by real estate agents to list properties, includes a category for bank-owned property. But here again, agents are told by many banks not to disclose the fact that the property is, in fact, owned by a bank.

A number of agents who sell bank-owned properties privately say most banks have the same requirement. They say banks want their homes to be considered equally with non-distressed homes.

Tyler Smith, vice president of REO Community Development for Premier Asset Services, acknowledged that Wells Fargo prefers that the MLS not list a property as bank-owned, if the listing is optional. In some parts of the country, the MLS requires that the property be listed as bank-owned, and Wells Fargo asks its agents to comply with the rule, Smith said. But in the regional MLS that serves Palm Beach County, there is no requirement, and so the disclosure is discouraged.

Rest here…

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4closureFraud.org