Kim, this is not a buyers maket, this is an investor/reo market. If you want to get in escrow quick and you must, since these rates and values may not stay like this forever, you need to very clearly understand a few things which are difficult from your point of view. Look, you are looking at foreclosures and not model new homes, properties are not in optimum condition; then you have huge competition from cash investors or buyer/investors with significantly large amounts of cash. You definitely need to play smart and look for properties which have been within 75 or more days in the market and although I know the condition they are have your hubby and close relatives do some of the work. But for Christ sake stop looking at the hot deals out there, YOU are not gonna win. Even if you are the first to bid, banks usually wait over three days in order to look at offers and they know eventually they will get a higher or better bid. Life is not fair all the time and there is no divine justice out there looking after us in this market. The stronger will win now and you must accept this fact. Buy something reasonable and three years from now you will be glad you did. Regards. Jaime Sanchez, Real Estate Broker.

Hi Kim, in order to put deals together in this market. you have to work with a good negotiator/communicator who is active in the market area. He/She has to be an area specialist and well known among his/her colleagues with an excellent reputation.
lastly higher deposits, shorter Escrow periods. shorter inspection periods and be willing to pay fair market value. will increase your chances.

Hi Kim, did you find your house yet?

As a real estate professional, I can tell you it certainly is frustrating to lose out on offer after offer. There are tricks to get your property. Has your agent suggested any strategies, or is he/her just putting in offers for you?

Also sounds like you are using an FHA loan. Did you get advice from your lender on it? Some banks don't like those loans as much, I'm guessing you are asking for a 45 day or more escrow period. In addition, the house has to be in a certain shape (big fixer won't fly at appraisal on FHA loans).

Has your agent been successful with other buyers in getting offers accepted on bank owned properties? They look for different things in an offer than private sellers do.

Thanks for the great replies! Our situation is a lot like Brett's, almost all the homes we've been looking at are bank owned, and it turns out that many times they're selling for much higher than asking price. We've also put offers on a few short sales and those went nowhere. It seems like the banks just drag their feet on those until they end up going into foreclosure.

We are looking at homes that might be desirable for a lot of people. We are starting to realize that we probably need to set our sights a little lower, and look at the "dumps" that are in the areas we like (we're not willing to look in less desirable areas where we could really get a nice house, but it's not where we want to be), or just continue to be patient and make offers on what we like until one sticks.

Thanks again for all of the wisdom!

Hi,
I'm also a buyer looking for a retirement home near relatives and the house that we loved the most had 13 offers as well. It was the cleanest and the most 'move in' ready with the starting price at $304,000...but of couse it sold for much more at $366.000. All of the houses in our price range are bank owned. From what we've observed, most of the houses in the area where we're looking seem to be REO. The ones that aren't, are at least $100,000 plus in price. As it is, the houses that are going for $399,900 were sold for at least $599,900 a year ago and $699,900 the year befor that. The Banks and the Realtors don't seem too happy. My advise would be to buy the fixer upper for the lower price. That's what we're doing. We're getting a house for a lot less than it's original asking price, it's a DUMP, we're the only bidders and it's still not over the realistic comps for the area.

NonRealtor is going to be a renter forever.
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The market you are experiencing says that there is more demand for the houses than supply. Two things to look at, first are you offering on the best of the lot? Because you can assume that everyone else will too. Second what about the houses in poorer shape/less desirable area but still decent?

During the past 5 years the San Francisco market was very competative for buyers. Your agent might not know ho to function is such a market. There are lots of tricks to use, in fact too many to list so my favorites are butter up the listiing agent, bring candy, basket of strawberries, flowers, something for them with your offer. Insist that your agent present your offer to the sellers and have you outside the office in your car ready and willing to make the deal right then. If you can't do that submit your offer with a counter offer saying "if this isn't good enough tell us what you want". Use letters from you to the seller, send pictures, tell them how much you love their "home" and that you can't wait to make it your "home".

Good luck

Hi Kim,

I have seen the same here in the california desert. What is happening now is that homes that are priced very competitively are getting multiple offers. Prior to submit an offer your Realtor can ask the seller's agent if any offers have been submitted and if they are strong or not. There are a set of questions that we Realtors can ask to "gage" how are the other offers coming at. I have had short sales listing with offers above the asking price. Once you have this information then you can place an offer that will be the one chosen. Good luck.
Leonardo

Ask your Realtor what's going on. Your experience certainly is not the norm nationwide, but it looks like you're in a hot market, at least for the properties you're bidding on. (What's making them so desirable. Even before the bubble burst, it was somewhat unusual to get over a dozen offers on a property.)

And now's the time to think outside the box. Your problem is competition for the houses you're looking at. So: Reduce or eliminate the competition. You could do it by looking in a different geographic area. Or by looking in a different price range. Or by looking at a different type of property. All those are possibilities, some of which you've probably considered. But you're not thinking outside the box yet.

You really want to eliminate the competition? Make an offer on a house that isn't for sale. There are plenty of those, and some of those owners would be willing to sell to you,

Have your Realtor look through the MLS and identify rental properties that would meet your criteria. Then have your Realtor contact the owners and make offers on those.

If they don't want to sell right now, offer a lease-purchase. Execute the documents, put them in escrow, then lease for a year or two--whatever timeframe you and the owner agree on. Then, with all the documents in place, you simply purchase. The same strategy can be accomplished using a land trust.

Or have your Realtor help you identify particular communities that meet your criteria as far as price, location, etc. Then do a direct mail campaign to all the owners in the communities. The pitch, in brief, from your Realtor is: "I have a client who would like to buy a home in your neighborhood. If you would consider selling, please contact me."

Meanwhile, advertise on CraigsList under "properties wanted." Both for purchase and for rent.

Contact real estate investors in your area. Here's a link to real estate clubs in California: http://www.creonline.com/real-estate-clubs/ca.html Talk to the club head. Better yet, attend one of their regularly scheduled meetings. Most usually have a "Deal Time" during which investors stand up and announce properties/deals they want to sell, or things they're looking for. Nothing to stop you from standing up and making your pitch. You'll find a lot of interest. It might be from an investor who's rehabbing a property and isn't done with it yet. Or from an investor with a property he or she was planning to lease-option. Or an investor who knows how to find properties like the ones I described above. The investor will expect (and deserve) to make a profit from the transaction, just as a Realtor does. But the transaction can be structured so it doesn't "hurt." And so it's completely safe for you.

In summary, if the problem is competitors, eliminate them. If they're competing for houses for sale, then you look for houses that aren't for sale. And then you buy. That's all there is to it.

Hope that helps.

I'm guessing that others who are "winning" are able to bring a higher down payment in, or pay cash. You're looking at a range that is very attractive to buyers, and is relatively easy to qualify for. You just have to keep putting in the offers until one sticks, and move fast when one comes along that might work for you.

On the plus side, there will be more foreclosures this year. I think they estimated another 2 million. Be patient. When the recession kicks in, there should be even more foreclosures. Keep saving your money.