Paul Wexler

Most foreclosed property sells below market price and it is possible to save as much as 10% or more by purchasing properties owned by a bank (called Real Estate Owned or REO). Although you can get a good deal buying REO property, there is also more risk because the bank is not required to make the same disclosures that are made in a private party sale.

Foreclosed properties are also sold at a Trustees’ Sale, but since you need cash and can’t inspect the property, most Trustee Sale properties are bought buy the bank who foreclosed. If you’re interested in getting a deal at the Trustees’ sale, you will want to read the Los Angeles Times article “The Foreclosure Bargain Hunt”

http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-re-fore…

The best web site to research pre-foreclosure and Trustee Sales is RealtyTrac.

http://www.realtytrac.com

Most banks hire real estate agents to market and sell their properties and most bank owned properties are listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to increase their exposure through cooperating brokers. Banks often prefer to initially offer their properties at or above the market price and then go through price decreases until the property sells rather than accept early "low-ball" offers. As the price for these properties goes below the market they can sell very quickly so you really need to be monitoring the properties daily and be ready to move in order to get a deal.

If you are interested in finding a foreclosure that the bank is selling through an agent, you might want to refer to the Web Reference below that I update weekly with most Summerlin REO property for sale. - Tue May 20 2008, 07:23