The role of an REO Asset Management is very clouded in the real estate industry. An asset manager oversees the property with the goal of increasing the value and delivering higher returns to the owner. The process is carried out from the acquisition of the property to the disposal. Roles include capital improvements, lease analysis, tax and insurance reviews, budgeting, landlord relations, and much more.
In the past, financial institutions hired asset managers to manage portfolios that were problematic due to overbuilding and mismanagement. Many homeowners and investors with large portfolios found them useful after transforming these broken properties into productive assets. Today, REO asset managers are playing an increasingly important role with banks and their huge portfolio of real estate.
Their role involves hiring property managers, brokers, and consultants who will work together to ensure that each property is rented, staffed, maintained, and marketed. While all this is happening, Asset Managers adjust their portfolio of projects and properties to market trends and any other conditions that affect the earning potential of the properties. Budgeting is one of the most important responsibilities of the job and it really determines a good REO manager. A part of that budget is the operating budget that handles day-to-day operations. The second is the capital budget, which of course is the big expense.
Asset management can be a rewarding profession in the real estate industry if one were interested in that position. A great deal of business planning and industry research is involved in addition to general property management. The overall goal of increasing property values is as rewarding as anything else.