Hi Skichic,

In my experience the bank/listing agents on R.E.O. usually have a response within 2-3 business days. Sometimes we have to chase them a bit, but I've never waited two weeks for a response. Short sales yes, even longer. But not R.E.O. properties. You may want to have your buyer broker talk to the listing agent's broker to make sure that the listing agent is acting ethically.

Fri May 23 2008, 18:39

Thanks for all the responses.

My original offer had a deadline in which to accept of 4 days (knowing full well I would not hear anything right away) but the very next morning after the offer expired - the list price on the MLS dropped more than $10k. Obviously they hadn’t even seen my offer yet, so I didn't feel it necessary to just leave my original offer on the table when the price was dropped, who would??

I honestly do not feel that the LA submitted the offer when he says he did, because my agent had a hell of a time just trying to get in touch with this guy from the beginning, but I can't prove anything.

Another thing - the LA even told my agent that my offer was strong and that he expected to hear from the bank within 48 hours (that was a week ago yesterday). The house is owned by Chase, so I don’t know if they have a history of just being slow to respond or if fault lies more with this listing agent. I'd hate to withdraw my offer after I've waited this long already, but being since this house has been on the market over 110 days I think its is a little ridiculous.

Fri May 23 2008, 16:19

Myke-

True, it wasn't the frequency by itself that led to success. The key to success was actually that time had passed. The trouble is, we don't know how much time needs to pass for this bean counter, at this bank, to accept the reality of this property's value. It might be 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, etc. So we submit twice a week. The bean counter's spreadsheet will eventually spit out a YES response, and we want that YES response to go to us, not a different buyer that snipes the deal out from us, because we predisposed that 3 weeks was the correct length of time to wait.

FYI, this is an approach that can be used, when you know you are close. I'm a pretty good judge of property value. Banks aren't always. When I know we've made a fair offer, it's not appropriate for my client to raise their offer, and it's also not appropriate for us to just sit around for 3 or 4 weeks and risk the property goes to someone else with an identical or even lower offer in 2 weeks time when the bank begins to lament, "why didn't we take that other offer?"

And I'll go back to my very first reply...every situation is different. What I recommend we do for REO deal #1 may be very different from what I recommend we do for REO deal #2. There are so many variables that you can't have a set approach and assume it always works. Which brings me 100% back to my point. In some cases, you do want to keep poking them in the eye, because in some cases, they don't seem to be feeling the pain enough the first few times.

Fri May 23 2008, 15:19

The point is - is there any reason to think that the frequency has anything to do with thier reconsidering?
Probably not.
If they were going to take that offer after 3 weeks - you could have simply waited 3 weeks and tried again. More then likely with the same results.

Persistance is one thing. Poking someone in the eye till they say uncle isn't always the best strategy though.

Fri May 23 2008, 13:22

Myke, there wasn't any luck involved, other than perhaps that a different buyer didn't come along and offer a higher price. It wasn't luck that the bank changed their mind, it was a lack of higher offers during the 3 weeks that the bank was being "stubborn". This was for more an example of persistence. Persistence that resulted in my client getting the home they wanted at the price they wanted. Again, the bank flat rejected earlier offers, so the offer had to be sent in again and again, to be re-considered.

Fri May 23 2008, 13:10

Steve - I think first you would have to question whether or not submitting it every few days is what did the trick - or whether you just got lucky and after 3 weeks they just decided to take your offer instead of lowering the price?

I think the phrase i'm looking for here is "Post hoc ergo propter hoc"
:)

Fri May 23 2008, 12:50

Myke-

No offense, but submitting multiple offers is indeed the RIGHT thing to do in some situations. We have a client that we kept submitting the exact same offer for every few days. The bank kept rejecting it for 3 weeks, and then finally accepted it. Every situation is indeed different, and with REO purchases, like all purchases, there is no clear cut, best way to do things method.

Fri May 23 2008, 12:41

Don't constantly submit offers. It just makes the stack of paperwork they have to go through that much bigger.

REO property is a process. You are not buying a home from a rational human who has a 9-5 job, and is only dealing with 1 sale at a time. You are buying from an institution who may have hundreds or even thousands of these properties on thier hands at a time.
You also have to remember that aside from the sheer workload - banks are looking for different things in offers then your average seller. THey are looking for the most cash in the most reliable way. Sometimes that means you might have a higher offer - but somebody else has a BETTER offer.

One way to cut down the wait- is to make a strong offer to the bank. Keep it simple, big downpayment - no complicated loans, no asking for closing costs, quick closing, no fuss, good price. The right offer will grab some attention.

Fri May 23 2008, 12:34

The banks are overwhelmed with short sales and REO's............I have successfully completed one recently and have some ideas that would work well. Have you worked with an agent?
John Lynch RE/MAX Fine Properties

Fri May 23 2008, 12:21

It might be normal. It might not. It depends on the lender, on the listing agent, on the hoops that have to be jumped through to get an approval done. I've had some that have taken a week or more, I've had one where we had the first response from the bank within 2 hours.

There is no normal. Just ask your agent to stay on top of the situation with the listing agent, it's all you can do unless you elect to move on to a different property.

Wed May 21 2008, 16:36

Hi Skichic,

I understand how frustrating is for you but keep in mind that the Financial Institutions are not Brokers. They do not want to keep real estate on their portfolios. Unfortunately they are not equipped nor staffed to be dealing with such a huge number of offers and counter offers. I have had experience on both sides and two very important things to keep in mind are: have a lot of patience and keep calling the bank as often as possible. Good luck!
Leonardo

Wed May 21 2008, 15:43

I don't think that is very normal, does this listing agent have a large amount of REOS listed? Some listing agents are taking more REO listings than they can handle and are very slow to respond, doing everyone involved in the transaction a disservice. See if your agent can get some info directly from the bank if possible, or put some more pressure on the listing agent.

Wed May 21 2008, 13:46

Actually, I don't think that's very common with an REO. Most bank owned properties have a 48 hr business day response time. The bank set the price, so if they get a contract at that price, their primary concern would be if the buyer can perform. You agent might try to work around the listing agent, directly with the bank. In Arizona, a buyer's agent has the right to request to present an offer directly to the seller. See if your agent can do that.

Wed May 21 2008, 13:24

This is very normal. In most cases it can take a month or longer to get a response from the REO. Ask your agent to get on the listing agent to see if there is anything they need to do to get a response.

Wed May 21 2008, 13:08

I forgot to mention that the home has been on the market for 110 days.

Thank you!

Wed May 21 2008, 13:03

Yes,
This is common for REO properties the W-A-I-T-I-N-G seems to be the most difficult part especially as Buyers WANT to Buy & Banks WANT to $ELL to re-coup funds. Hang in there a bit longer & if you are no longer interested, see if your Realtor can draft the necessary paperwork(Notice) to cancel your offer to purchase. Good Luck!
JustGeri

Wed May 21 2008, 12:56