So Chris... any luck? You posted this question 8 months ago...I am curious if you found a great home! Bank owned properties and Short sales can be tricky to navigate... sometimes buying a home from a traditional seller makes the best deal and a lot less headache! But I agree with all the comments.. you need a STRONG buyers agent to represent you!

Thanks!
Danielle Ervin
danielle.ervin@yahoo.com

Chris:

Based on experience, here are the tricks:
1. Work with a good, highly responsive agent, with great negotiating skills and the drive to make sure you get the home of your dreams.
2. Don't base your offer on asking price, base your offer on market price. Banks are starting to price very low to create bidding wars. Make sure you don't get caught up in the frenzy, however, also make sure you are offering a fair price for the home.
3. Be the first. Get out there and see the home on day 1 or 2 and put in your offer immediately, if you are interested.
4. Make your offer clean and simple. Offer short escrow, shortened inspection periods (we offer 10 days after utilities are turned on for our inspection period), and minimal seller concessions. The banks prefer straightforward offers that do not require a lot of work or thinking on their side. (That being said, I have often found that banks will pay for home warranties and a reasonable, fixed dollar amount towards closing costs. Pick a number at 1-1.5% of purchase price, ONLY if you need the help.)
5. Don't get discouraged. As long as you are a highly qualified buyer, you will get a home. Make sure you are working with a Realtor who is working for you!

In this crazy market, patience and perseverance are the keys to success. Dare to Dream.

Shel-lee Davis
Real Estate Consultant
RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty

Have your agent put you on an automatic email search via the MLS for all bank owned homes in the area that you looking at. This way, when any home become available in your area on the MLS, you'll be the first to know. Also, I have my clients electronically sign the RPA (Residential Purchase Agreement) or offer online so that I can quickly submit the offer to the listing agent. These are just some of the tools that I use to help my clients buy REO properties. Good luck in your search!

You need a good agent on your side to get into a bank-owned home. I hear these type of stories all the time and know what it takes to be sucessful. I have 5 REOs in escrow right now.....3 in the OC and 2 in SD. Do you have your own agent? Is s/he experienced in working with REO properties? It takes a lot of hard work and follow up.

Hi Chris,

I know it can be very frustrating trying to buy a home in this market. The bank owned homes are typically priced to sell quickly, therefore, making it very appealing to many buyers. This seems to stir up a competition which makes the price go up sometimes substantially. It is important that when a bank owned property comes on the market that you go see it right away and if you like it, make an offer right away as well! I would advise you to have your agent run comps to see what homes have sold for in the neighborhood that are like for like meaning same square footage or close to it. This way, you know if you are really getting a good value as well.

I would also recommend making offers for always more than asking price. There are really no tricks to say, in purchasing a bank owned home, but you do need an agent who is savvy and watches the market and is on top of things when they do come on the market to show you right away. I know it is frustrating, but hang in there, keep being persistant, and you will end up with something.

I do feel that getting to the bank owned homes as soon as they come on the market and offering more than asking price, will get you a home. It has worked with everyone I have represented in the past.

Good luck to you!

Joan Patterson, B.A., A.S.P., G.R.I., Realtor
Keller Williams Realty
8250 White Oak Avenue, Ste 102
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
951-204-1864 http://www.calljoan4homes.com

Banks are publicly traded companies that have to report to shareholders....don't worry, just wait it out. Those homes will continue to sit and the banks will dump them at any cost to recover at least something. They have to minimize losses every quarter to maintain stock value. Hold off until the desperation comes for them.

You need a good agent that specializes in bank owned homes. The agents that list these homes have buyers agents that have the knowledge and experience that will give you the inside track when making offers. Sometimes you can even buy them before they hit the market so you do not have to deal with multiple offers. If you do find yourself dealing with multiple offers bid as high as you feel comfortable with. Bank owned homes are priced low on purpose to drive up the price of the home. Banks expect multiple offers and only the highest offer wins. Contact the listing agent directly and ask to speak to the buyer's agent for the listing. This is the best way to buy a bank owned home.

Chris -
Hang in there! We too put in many offers (10 to be exact), and we kept getting out bid. We are at the lower end of the single family price range in our area ($400k - $500k) and it is a hot market! Most homes were banked-owned, but some were private sellers. One home sold for $50K over asking price!?!?! we finally got one - it's a trustee sale. But, we offered $15K over asking and we're taking it as-is. It's still a great deal (we hope). My advice - do your homework, jump on the homes as they come up, work with an agent that is willing to write on many homes. You will find the right one!!

Hi Chris,
Do you have a good agent helping you?
Bank owned homes are usually not as hard to deal with as short sales. Many agents will disagree and will say how much experience they have with short sales but honestly short sales are worth avoiding... wait for them to be foreclosed. Or just find actual real people who are selling their homes and who can make a deal with you! There are a fair amount of them out there. For some reason the lenders seem to have their heads in the sand and take MONTHS to respond to decent, reasonable offers... sometimes even asking price offers. Then the bankers are shocked when those buyers are not interested anymore after several months. I am not saying this is always the case but if you do a search on here for posts about short sales you will see that many people have had this problem. But on straight bank owned properties you usually get a response fairly quickly on reasonable offers. Maybe you need a good agent?