Realtors' bus tour brings spotlight to foreclosed residential properties

In a housing market rife with foreclosures, the Eikleberry Group at Dickson Realty has been running weekly tours of distressed properties.

The team Pam Eikleberry, Don Rotsma, Rachel Geyer ran its first bus in early April.

The only place the bus doesn't run is the North Valleys, where buyers drive their own cars to properties, which tend to be spaced further apart.

Tours rotate among five areas: south suburban, downtown and old southwest, northwest, Sparks-Spanish Springs and the far south, as far as Washoe Valley. The far-south tour runs rarely because there are few foreclosures in those more rural regions.

The first foreclosure bus ran in early April. It seats 22 and is advertised via radio and newspaper ads. Schedules are posted at Renoforeclosurebus.com

The group starts the week with a list of 150 foreclosure homes, says Eikleberry, and divvies them up to tour them all. "Then we fight it out among us to choose the best 15 to tour."

The final spread includes both turnkey homes ready to move into and some that need work for investors seeking bottom price.

Passengers are outfitted with a spiral-bound notebook with information on the homes along with what price for which the bank took the home back. They also get a grading sheet, instruction on how to grade foreclosures and instruction on how to write an offer.

"Presenting an offer to a bank is much different from presenting to a seller," says Eikleberry.

Tours leave the Costco parking lot on Plumb Lane at noon and return by 3 p.m. Average turnout is 15 to 20.

Two Dickson Realty agents are on board along with a lender who can answer financing questions