How To Buy Reo Homes

How To Buy A Bank

Buying a bank-owned home is similar to purchasing a house from a traditional owner, but with a few differences. Here are some tips:

• Before shopping, get preapproved for a mortgage to show you’re a qualified buyer, just as you would when shopping for any type of home.

• Find a real estate agent with experience helping clients buy REO properties.

• Work with your real estate agent to make an offer. Lenders generally price foreclosed homes at market value, so don’t expect deep discounts. After you make an offer, it may take longer to complete negotiations than with a traditional owner because multiple people at the lender may need to give approval.

• Expect your own mortgage lender to require a home appraisal to estimate the property’s market value.

• Get a home inspection to learn about the property’s condition and needed repairs. An inspection is always recommended when buying a home, and it’s critical when purchasing an REO property because records of maintenance and repair work may not be available. Most REO properties are sold “as is,” so you’ll want to consider the cost of repairs in your offer.

• Get a title search to check for any liens against the property that might not have been discovered at foreclosure.

• Consider a renovation mortgage if you’re thinking about buying a bank-owned fixer-upper. A renovation mortgage lets you get one home loan to combine the cost of improvements and the purchase price.

How To Get Bank

Bank-owned property can be incredibly profitable for real estate agents and brokers. Once listed, these properties can sell fast, and proven success can lead to a consistent stream of highly profitable listings.

So which banks will list their foreclosure inventory with realtors? And how do they select which realtors to give their business to?

Watch this video to learn how to get bank-owned property listings:

Is Buying A Foreclosed Home Cheaper

Its true: Foreclosed homes are usually priced cheaper than other homes on the market.

One reason is because the bank or lender wants to get the foreclosed home off their hands as soon as possible. The longer they keep it, the more money they lose because they arent getting mortgage payments or profits from selling the home. Since the bank wants that money in its pocket now, they arent exactly waiting around for the highest possible offer.

Another reason foreclosed homes are almost always cheaper is that theyre usually sold as is. That means you get the house in the condition you found itwithout repairs. And you can expect thatthese homes will need repairs because, in most cases, nobody has lived there while the bank has owned it. And the bank, which is trying to maximize how much it gets for the house, wont spend a ton of money on upkeep.

Usually, a foreclosed house has been sitting closed up for months, with no air conditioningperfect for spawning mold, mildew and nasty odors. Yuck! And the previous owners could have made things even worse if they left clutter or trash. Unoccupied houses are sometimes targets for vandalism or theft too, which can mean missing appliances, removed copper piping, graffiti, you name it. The yard will also probably be overgrown and in desperate need of cleanup and landscaping. Not to mention that youll need to carefully examine the structure of the home, since big problems could be lurking there.

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Tips For Purchasing A Bank

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Homebuyers can find themselves a discount by buying a foreclosure. This process typically entails looking for a home that’s been foreclosed on by the bank because the owner had financial difficulty.

There are several ways to locate these properties, and several things you’ll want to know about finding the right agent to help you. First, we’ll share how homes end up in foreclosure.

The Bottom Line: Is Buying A Foreclosed Home Right For You

Buying a foreclosure can be a unique opportunity for homebuyers looking to pay lower prices or below market value or for complete home restoration projects. Keep in mind that many foreclosed homes could have severe damage and structural issues, and are usually sold as-is.

Get in contact with an experienced real estate agent if you want to take a risk on a foreclosure. Your real estate agent will help guide you through the foreclosure process, because most lenders dont sell to individual buyers.

Once you find a home youre interested in, get an appraisal and property inspection completed. Youll also need to secure funding with a mortgage preapproval. Follow up with your lender and agent to finalize the sale once the results of your inspection look acceptable.

If youre ready to get a mortgage approval, get started online!

Find a local pro.

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How Do I Get A Good Deal On A Foreclosed Home

When youre investing in real estatethe keyword there being investingyou make money by finding a good deal first, then selling at a higher price later. This means you want to buy something below market value.

One of the most important rules about buying foreclosed homes is that you must get a good deal. As an investor, you can generally consider a home to be a good deal if you can get it for 80% or less of market value minus the cost of repairs.

Even if youre taking the house as is, your offer should still account for the cost of repairs youll have to make after you buy it. You just need a home inspection and a good bid on repairs so you can apply the formula for getting a deal on the house:

80% of the appraised value minus the cost of repairs

For example, lets say you find a foreclosure listed at $125,000. You and your real estate agent agree this is a fair market value for the house in pristine condition. But its not in pristine condition and your contractor estimates repairs at $15,000.

Now do the math: 80% of $125,000 is $100,000, minus repairs of $15,000 equals $85,000. Thats the offer you make. Remember, the deal is made at the buy. That means you dont buy unless youre getting a deal. Youve got some room to negotiate, but dont go into debt to get the deal done.

Okay, so what if youre not an investor? Is it still a good idea to look at a foreclosed home as a first-time home buyer? Maybe.

Foreclosure Listings Subscription Sites

RealtyTrac. Theres a free 7-day trial after that, its $49.95 a month, with discounts on multi-month packages. Members get access to RealtyTracs proprietary information, including auctions dates and locations, pre-foreclosure addresses, owner information, bank loan amounts and more.

Foreclosure.com. After the free 7-day trial, its $39.80 per month. Subscribers receive detailed information on the listed properties, tax roll data, files provided by the lender, local school districts and other listing details.

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Risks Of Buying Reo Property

• Is the Buyer Responsible for Short Sale Repairs?

Buying a real estate owned home is often tempting because of the savings potential. Lenders with REO properties usually want to sell as soon as possible to avoid the cost and hassle of ownership, and that is reflected in their pricing. While buying a REO property comes with the risks you’d have under a traditional sale, there are some extra warnings involved.

Who Should Buy A Foreclosed Home

People who are willing to do significant research before making an offer, and who are willing to deal with lengthy delays and onerous paperwork, could find this a good strategy.

It very much helps to be able to pay significant cash on short notice for repairs, overdue taxes, and liens.

Eligibility for one of the federal financing programs such as a 203 loan, HomePath ReadyBuyer, or a HomeSteps mortgage, is a plus. These programs were created to help you buy a home.

Failing that, an all-cash offer, if possible, can give you a leg up.

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Perform A Title Search

In addition to a home inspection, itâs important to perform a title search on the property youâre considering. There could be a lien against the home, which is another nasty surprise you want to avoid.

For example, the previous owner may have owed property taxes. When you buy an REO property, you will likely receive a quitclaim deed rather than a warranty deed. This means the lender is simply transferring interest of the property and canât guarantee there arenât any lingering judgements against it. Several types of liens survive the foreclosure process, which means you would become responsible for them once you buy the property.

Fortunately, liens are public records, so you can search a propertyâs title for any issues. You can also hire a title search company to do this for you. The cost varies by state but averages about $150.

What Are Foreclosures And Reo Properties

Banks own real estate because they have acquired the properties through foreclosure. A foreclosure occurs when a homeowner is unable or refuses to pay their mortgage payments. When that happens, the lender that backed the mortgage repossesses the home, since the property is collateral for the loan.

Once repossessed, the lendertypically a bankwill auction off the property in hopes of recouping the losses it incurred when the homeowner missed payments. If the home fails to sell in the auction, it goes on the bank’s books and is referred to as a “real estate owned” property. A home may fail to sell because no one showed up to bid the minimum amount of the existing mortgage or because the bank started the minimum bid so high that no one would touch it.

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Go Where The Foreclosures Are

The law of supply and demand doesnt just apply to that 12th-grade economics class you took in high school. It also applies to the process of purchasing an REO property.

Thats because, quite simply, the more supply you have within a given market, the more opportunities youll have to acquire an REO property .

And while its beneficial to invest in a market you know well and that is near you sometimes there can be real advantages in dropping your hook where the fish are.

From an REO investment perspective, this means targeting specific geographic regions that have high foreclosure rates. And while these numbers can fluctuate and are prone to change, here are four U.S. regions that, according to RealtyTrac, may offer real REO property potential for a real estate investor.

A great resource for up-to-date foreclosure information, state-by-state, is RealtyTrac. Be sure to check their listings for the most recent foreclosure information.

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How Does A Property Become Bank

Real estate becomes bank-owned property when borrowers become delinquent and default on their financial obligations. A bank effectively repossesses the property, and it is held classified as Other Real Estate Owned or Real Estate Owned .

The most obvious reason for a bank to repo a property is late mortgage payments. This can arise when a borrower becomes consistently late on monthly payments or when they miss maturity deadlines .

Lenders, banks, credit unions, and servicers may also seek repossession if it is necessary to preserve their investment from other claims or when there is another type of breach of contract. This might include due-on-sale clause provisions and discovery of mortgage fraud.

3 Ways Properties Become Bank-Owned:

Submit A Competitive Offer

Work with your agent to submit a competitive offer. Remember that you may have some tough competition depending on how good the deal is and that it can take a long time to close on the deal. One tactic is to submit multiple offers on foreclosed properties to better your odds of one being approved.

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Understanding General Vs Special Warranty Deeds

In most home sales, there is typically a general warranty deed. As general warranty deed tells you a couple of things:

• The seller has the right to sell you the property as they currently own it.
• There are no other legal issues or claims to the property by anyone other than the seller.

If you get a general warranty deed, no one can claim issues with your title from before you owned the property. The general warranty deed also lets you know that there are no liens and that the property is owned free and clear by the seller.

However, with an REO sale you may not be able to get a general warranty deed. In this situation, its common to instead receive a special warranty deed. In this instance, special doesnt always mean better.

With a special warranty deed, the mortgage investor is likely to only guarantee that there are no additional title issues that have been created since they took over ownership. Although they have the right to sell the property, they cant promise against other pre-existing title issues or liens.

For this reason, its important to take precautions when purchasing an REO property.

Close The Sale And Pick Up The Keys

If the bank approves your offer and the inspection doesn’t turn up any serious red flags, your sale will progress as normal. There is often a lot of paperwork and back-and-forth discussion between the bank and your agent, so patience is important. Your agent will keep you updated on the process. As soon as the transaction is complete, you will receive the keys and title to the house.

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How To Find Reo Properties: A Beginners Guide

• How to buy REO properties

If youre new to real estate investing and thinking of throwing your hat into the REO property ring, there may be wondering how to find REO properties .

Though making an REO offer on a property does require patience and more than a few hoops to jump through learning how to buy a bank-owned property can be a lucrative part of your real estate investing portfolio . For what its worth, bulk REO properties can be one of the greatest exit strategies for investors that know what they are doing.

Pros Of Reo Properties

• Lenders are motivated to sell: Banks donât want a bunch of properties sitting on their books. That means holders of REO properties are eager to sell and will work to offload a property quickly. That can mean a leg up on negotiations and potentially better terms for you.
• The price will likely be competitive: Because lenders are so motivated to sell, properties are usually priced lower than other homes on the market. That doesnât necessarily mean youâll get an REO property for cheap. Lenders still need to recoup their losses, after all. But it does mean that you probably donât have to worry about inflated prices in a hot housing market.

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How To Buy Reo Properties: 11

Real estate owned properties , otherwise known as bank owned properties, present unique investment opportunities for real estate investors. These are properties that have failed to sell at foreclosure auctions and ownership transferred to the bank or lender. The lenders now have to sell the homes themselves, a process that may involve tenant eviction, clearance of any liens, and sometimes some repairs.

REO properties are usually listed below market value, have low competition, and have the potential to yield high returns. However, like all real estate investments, buying REO homes comes with risks that can lead to huge financial loss. These properties often require a lot of repair and renovations, more so than other investment property options. Nevertheless, this should not intimidate you. If you take your time and understand how to buy REO properties, you can find a great real estate deal.

Here is a step-by-step guide to provide you with some insight into how to buy REO properties.

Making An Offer On A Real Estate Owned Home

Buying an REO is a complex process. You will have to be a savvy negotiator to purchase real estate at a price you want.

An offer on an REO should include a cover letter, stated willingness to buy the home as is, and an escape clause that lets you out of the real estate deal if later inspection reveals extensive property damage. You usually wont be able to inspect the REO before you send your offer.

To increase your chances of landing the REO property, make your offer for or close to the asking price. However, if your research reveals the REO is overpriced, you might decide to offer below listing price and explain your reasoning in a cover letter.

When you buy an REO, you can end up buying a good home at a good value. Given the level of complication, however, you will benefit from hiring a team of experts, such as a real estate agent, real estate attorney, and contractor, to help you navigate the deal.

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