From what you have said it appears that the property that you are trying to purchase is not a REO but a house in foreclosure. The owner must of tried to sell home and has given up and is trying to complete a deed in lieu of foreclosure. That means that the title needs to be free and clear of all liens and that the bank has recieved all the documents from the owner validating the owners postion. The owner of the property in this case is causing the delay! There are issues with banks and the timing of their responses, but this does not sound like it is totally the banks fault. There are three types of foreclosure properties, Pre-foreclosure (owner selling with or without banks approval), buying the property at the sheirfs sale and lastly at REO (Realestate Owned) when the bank is selling the property after the foreclosure sale.

When dealing with thses type properties you need to make sure you real estate agent knows the process and what can cause the delays. A knowledgeable agent will be able to answer you questions and tell you your options and likely hood of working out a deal.

I am a Realty Trac rep in the milwaukee area with over 18 years of foreclosure expereince.

What I have ben told as a younger investor is that the only options you personally have available to speed up the timeline on such transactions is to go from offers with pre approvals to cash deals. I have never personally done a cash deal. There are many risks associated with moving so fast. So i am not sure who I am quoting, but your money or time.....

Exploring Milwaukee,
I wish I had a good answer for you, but those of us in the industry are equally as frustrated as the Sellers and Buyers. We are witnessing such a fluid situation with the financial institutions, they are inundated with properties, offers, foreclosures, short sales- plus, I have seen them trying to do more with less people- which results in employee burnout and inefficiency.
There is no consistency between each financial institution so the process is hard to nail down.
I am assuming you have a Realtor representing your interest, have a talk with them as to what your options are per your offer.

Only you know if you feel the property is worth waiting for. If it is, hang in there to see if things can work in your favor. If not, again discuss with your Realtor what your options may be. If there was a deadline in your offer for Bank approval, and it has expired- you may be able to negate the contract.

All the Best to you.

My dear Exploring - it is crazy, isn't it? The general public just does not realize how challenging it is, that our market is being worsened daily by these types of situations. Let's face it, if it's not a good deal, you'd move on. The reverse of this means that prices are being pushed downward to offset the hassles, which in turns lowers the value of Joe the Plummers house. It's a shame, and I have to wonder if Congress (the ones bailing out these banks) know how difficult they make the process. The banks are losing money - OUR MONEY- with these processes, and it makes me angry, too. Write your congressman. I have.

Now, in an attempt to be helpful.... you're not buying an REO, even if that's what you thought it was. You're buying a short sale. Advice differs on those. If you have a deadline, get out of the deal and move on. You may end up homeless... I've seen buyers end up without a place to live because of this exact situation. If you have time, sit back and wait. More and more short sales are getting approved. HOWEVER, many don't - then the homes become REOs. It can take anywhere from days to weeks to months for them to resurface on the market again and be ready for purchase.

Again, this would be OK with me, a tax payer, if only you and I were not paying for their losses. But, since we're footing the bill, they need to be accountable for this slow process. It sincerely makes me angry, but if it's any consolation, you're not the only one.

I've purchased a couple of bank owned properties myself. The offer took about 2 weeks to get accepted on the last one I purchased. There is a lot of red tape at the banks before they can make their decisions. The listing agent didn't seem to have his stuff together as there were about 5 rounds of signed paperwork before ratifying the agreement. It sounds like the Deed in Lieu process began after you submitted your offer; hence the long wait. Did you originally submit an offer to the homeowever, and they decided to give their deed to the bank, and now you are attempting to buy from the bank? Ideally, in working with a home-seller, you would be stepping in so a Deed in Lieu or foreclosue wouldn't be necessary (assuming you could close in time).

Hey Milwaukee:

Yes, we have all had our difficulties dealing with these sorts of offers. I've found that the short sale process is absurd and many sellers haven't been pre-approved for short sale. The foreclosure side of the market seems to move much more swiftly.

I have sold both and while the short sale took many months and challenges and answers similar to what you stated, the foreclosure took on 2 days and a closing in 30 days.

The banks have ever changing policies and are inundated with challenges so unless you find a broker and agent who are familiar with the dealings of distressed and bank owned properties; you'll be "hanging in there" for a long time and with no answers.

Let me know if you'd like a contact of a broker/agent in Milwaukee to help you sort out the options.

Best regards,

Owen Zweiback PA, GRI, Realtor, e-Pro
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
800-547-3019 Toll Free Office
239-269-3077 Cell