You are getting some good advice in response to your question. When you are ready to make an offer on a house, it is good to realize that the bank has already discounted the asking price. Some buyers come in 30% under the asking price and don't understand that being a cash buyer didn't save the day. At the closing, all buyers are "cash" buyers. The last purchase I did on a banked owned property we offered $10,000 over the asking price. At that, we got the house because we made the first offer. A second bidder made the same offer.

Good luck.

Of course, a cash offer means the closing can happen faster.
Make sure you provide proof of funds with your offer. While this will allow you to consider removing the appraisal contingency from your offer, I would still recommend you maintain all inspection contingencies and perform all inspections.

A possible offer in your situation, where you're buying with cash, would be for inspections to be completed within 10 days from acceptance, and closing to occur within 21 days from acceptance. Such terms, without a mortgage contingency, may prove to be very enticing to the bank/seller. Do be aware as to whether or not there are multiple offers, which we are seeing on some bank-owned properties. If there are multiple offers, you will have to carefully consider what purchase price to offer.

Your buyer's agent will be able to assist you in determining which terms will make your offer stand out from the rest.

I am not going to need outside financing, will this move the process along more quickly???

Yes to answering your direct question about buying it from the bank. These properties have already been repossesed and so the deed is in the banks name. You can use any buyer's agent to represent you. It is no different than purchasing any other home as far as the process goes. I have sold many of these "bank owned" homes and even though they say "as-is" you are still able to have a home inspection and back out of the deal if you see too much you are unwilling to deal with. In many instances you will find that although you are told the bank won't fix or renegotiate after inspections, I have found they will, just to unload the property. Make sure are working with an agent who has closed on such homes. Keep in mind these homes usually are "tired" and require work. For example, burst pipes, furnace issues, electrical issues, holes in walls and other cosmetic issues needing immediate attention.

A HUD listing is a home that had an FHA loan on it and has been foreclosed upon. Upon foreclosure, the lender deeds the home back to HUD, who then sells the home (HUD stands for the Department of Housing and Urban Development).

If a home is bank-owned, then the bank is selling the home as they have already foreclosed on the home and are now the owners. The banks utilize real estate agents to list and sell their homes.

Please keep in mind that foreclosure/bank-owned homes are typically sold as-is in their present condition. The bank will make no disclosures about the condition or even the livability of the home. Once your offer on a bank-owned home is accepted, you typically only have 30 days to close on the home, so be sure you are working with a lender who is able to turn around your financing quickly. Of course, you need to be pre-approved for financing before a bank - or any seller for that matter - will even consider your offer.

As an aside, I live in New Fairfield and love it here.