Hi,

One ot the things to wait for is not just for prices to finish falling, but when will the bank regulators begin to compel REO holding institutions to begin liquidating at any reasonable price or run the risk of being taken over by the Feds. Just because the banks 'write-down' the loans on the books, the carry costs are quite real to them too - insurances, taxes, utilities, risk-of-damage, and on and on and on.
Once the financial instituions feel the squeeze of reduced depotis, lowed levels of ability to borrow and the like, they will then begin to act much faster to take your reasonable offer and not play the game of waiting to see how much they can milk you for. You are in the drivers seat, so drive a hard bargain and come up the winner.

Dane,

I also cover the Springfield area, as a member of my team lives in Springfield and I grew up in Springfiled. I would certainly welcome the opportunity to talk to you about our investor programs and invite you to our next investor class we will be holding soon.

Let me know if you are ready to get serious about investing and would like to learn more about building wealth in real estate. I look forward to working with you in the future.

My email address is sold@JohnYouker.com and we can certainly help you. We are also short sale specialists, with several short sales currently listed. Sometimes you can get really good buys on these pre-foreclosure deals - let me know.

The banks have certainly done their homework to arrive at a value for the home through realtor opinions (BPO's) and appraisals. The houses are listed at good prices, for the most part as it is, so offering a bit under asking price will usually take the home - sometimes 10% or so. I have investors that write 50% of asking price and they will go through 30 homes before they get an offer that is actually accepted or even countered.

As much as they want to sell the home, they usually will not counter as they feel that it weakens their position - they can be frustrating to deal with, but you have to be patient and you will get a good deal. It makes no matter what it is listed for or what you should offer. What matters is what the house is truly worth, both as-is and after repair value and what would it take to get it to cash flow after you rent it or what it would take to turn a profit on a flip - that is what really matters.

Successful investors don’t worry about list price and offer price - they simply write offers that are a win for them and if they get accepted, great! And if they do not, they move on to what will work for them and pay them.

How much to offer? That is anyone's guess. Realize that the banks are trying to cover any loss from the repo yet they do want to sell. They probably have an amount in mind and may already have offers and are just waiting for the best one to come in. If the house has been on the market for a while, then you have a better chance of the bank accepting a lower offer. Make sure you are already preapproved for a loan or can pay cash and earnest money will be required with your offer.

If you are talking about a bank owned home listed by the lender on the open market, they are usually looking to be within 5-10% of their listed price. Before listing, they will have usually obtained 4 opinions of value (1 appraisal and 2 BPOs (broker price opinions) upon receiving the property and 1 BPO at the time the property is listed. Offering far less than this, in most instances, may do more harm than good.

The very best REO properties are the ones tat the general public don't even see or know they are listed. These are gone the moment they are made available and watched by active REO agents experienced with bank owned property. Having a great agent on your side, familiar with the REO market, could save you countless hours, much frustration and, in the process, save you thousands of dollars.

Good luck in your search!