Get a Real Estate professional...fees to Realtors are paid by the seller...not the buyer...you need professional advise.

Riley,

I guess your stuck....we know of no way to accomplish this since banks deal with property issues through real estate professionals. If you are a serious buyer, contact an agent today. AND the bank pays the agents professional fees.

The banks are not in the business to sell real estate, they engage real estate agent's service to do so. The houses you see on the foreclosure list and not on MLS are not ready to be sold yet and will come on the market when it's ready. By that time, you should be ready to make offers.

The best way is to engage service of a real estate agent to help you with REO properties as soon as they come on the market.

Best,
Sylvia Barry
Marin Realtor

The problem with that is that you have to be licensed to sell real estate. Very few banks employ licensed real estate professionals in their REO departments(think about how many they would have to employ in every city in every state that they did business!) so approaching the bank directly means there is no licensed real estate professional representing either side.

If it's already bank-owned, I'm not aware that you can get around it. Each bank works with a real estate agent or several of them. Washington Mutual is a huge bank with tons of foreclosures. Those agents are trained on the proper procedures to making and submitting offers, then handling all inspections, pre-approvals, etc. through closing. If the banks allowed all buyers to make their own offers, they would have to hire a lot more people to work on these foreclosures. Having an agent take care of selling the foreclosures streamlines the process, so that they have hire less employees (an agent can easily handle 10-20 foreclosures).

You can purchase a foreclosure at a public outcry where they sell to the highest bidder. But, if you go this route, be sure you do your due dilligence. You don't know what you're getting--the condition of the house, any back taxes owed, any other items that can affect its title. You must check on these items before bidding on a property or you might be stuck with a lemon.

Best to you,

Adelina Rotar
Realty Executives Associates

Riley:

Banks rely on local agents to handle transactions. The properties are listed after foreclosure with a realtor on the MLS as a bank owned property. Prior to it being listed, you can purchase at Sheriff Sale. I have never been able to find out how to "cut" the listing agent out of the equation on the bank owned deals.

If it is listed with a realtor, you might as well use one since it is included in the price. It will make your life much easier since agents are experienced in working these difficult transactions.