[1]Members of the Five Star Institute [2]'s Federation of Certified REO Experts (FORCE [3]) gathered from all over the country last week for the FORCE rally at the 2015 Five Star Conference and Expo in Dallas for a day of exclusive academics and networking opportunities.
The rally included an overview of the FORCE from Ruben Peña, President/Owner of TC Austin (Texas) Residential and chairman of the FORCE advisory board, who also moderated the event and provided witty commentary throughout. Mercedes Henrikkson, director of loss mitigation with Fannie Mae, provided the FORCE members with an update.
Several experts from the industry spoke to the audience about various aspects on the state of REO. Lisa Shepherd, executive director of property preservation with Assero 24, spoke to the audience on Traits Asset Managers Look for in Agents. Shepherd said that agents need to be responsive but not overaggressive, and they need to go out to the property. She also said that the times have changed—agents who are not at a certain level of quality are going to be left behind.
Brian Flaherty, COO of Global Strategic, spoke about the importance of staying involved on social media—for example, don't simply post "just listed" on Facebook but be more creative. Randy Cecil, president of Truly Noble Services, spoke on the single-family rental market, currently one of the hottest areas of the real estate industry.
[4]Clay Lehman, Principal at Resolute Management, and the FORCE Advisory Council provided the FORCE members in attendance with tips on how to work well with asset managers, diversify the company, and use REO to further the business. The evening also included a market update from Ed Delgado, President and CEO of The Five Star Institute.
Editor's note: The Federation of REO Certified Experts (FORCE) is the Five Star Institute’s organization of residential agents and brokers working in the field of real estate owned (REO) properties. The Five Star Institute is the parent company of DS News and DSNews.com.