I work with banks and mortgage companies to meet with homeowners that are near to the sale on the court house steps, and in several occasions even after the sale, until the attorney files the papers with the court, the mortgage company has offered the homeowner a modifications of their mortgage - particularily if the loan is owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae! They really don't want the home - they want the homeowner to stay in the property, and even have offered it for a rental to the original homeowner. Its amazing what deals they are offering today!

Bill Wootan - Team Leader
Team One @ Century 21 H T Brown
Waldorf, Md.

If the listing agent moves quickly and contacts the bank, the owner's of the property do have rights in regard to being able to reclaim the property. However, this all depends on how much is currently owed on the property and when a bank placed a property in foreclosure, they have a lot of fees, interest, etc that is tacked onto the balance which could make your offer not enough for the bank to recover their interest in the property. If you do not have time to wait this out (it could take weeks), I suggest you move onto another property. There is certainly plenty of homes on the market in the Bel Air area now. Good luck to you!

To start off, this is a long process that takes a lot of patience. If the property did not sell at the courts steps (auction) the property becomes bank owned and depending on the bank and maybe even location, by law the bank has to give the owner as certain amount of time (45 days or so) to redeem the property. During this time everything is in limbo till such time that the bank has it listed through an Agent.
You may have to "wait and see" or start looking at other properties.
I hope that this helps.
Ania
AniaMiller@kw.com