If you are looking to get into the business of cleaning and repairing REO properties another avenue for you might be to sign up with a National Preservation Company. Most large banks and REO companies (who service for Banks) do not contract out with individual companies in each city, but rather rely on large national vendors.

You could sign up with one of these vendors as a contractor - most of the time this is where the bulk of the business comes from. Here are some national companies:

Cyprexx Services
Safeguard Properties
First American Field Services

If you are looking to deal with Realtors directly (some banks allow the agents to choose who can maintain the properties) a good resource for Realtors who handle REO properties is NRBA (National REO Brokers Association).

Hope this helps!

That would be your best bet. The listing agents get the trashouts, locks changes, and etc. ordered. They may have a specific vendor list provided by the REO company, but you could ask if they minded sharing the information so you could apply.