Thursday 19 June 2014

Bank Owned REO Properties For Sale

By Sherry Gross


If you owe a financial institution a mortgage loan and in the process of servicing it you fail to honor all the terms and conditions, foreclosure proceedings may be initiated against the house. Foreclosure can be conducted either through the courts in judicial foreclosure proceedings or outside the court in a non-judicial process. Through this two methods, bank owned REO properties come into being if the property owner fails to reclaim it.

A property owner facing foreclosure always has the privilege to get back the property by paying the outstanding balance. However, this can only be done before proceedings are finalized. In the event a property owner fails to reclaim his or her property, ownership is transferred to the mortgage lender. REO (Real Estate Owned) properties are usually owned by banks and they can be disposed of just like any other type of real estate.

Banks normally use real estate agencies to deal with their REO holdings. These assets are normally posted on various listings for prospective buyers to express their interest. When this is done, the transaction and negotiations are done by the realtors. The property can be sold without consulting the banking institution that owns it provided the minimum price has been met.

An economic crisis occurred during the last half decade causing a downward surge in the housing market. This forced many property owners to default. Many of them lost their homes to mortgage lenders like banks while others managed to reclaim their houses. This crisis is to blame for the large number of REO's in the market.

Prospective buyers are in a position to acquire REO homes and commercial real estate at a reduced price. In most cases, these properties can be bought at a discount of up to a fifth of the current market price. However, prices often vary from one city to the next, and the realtor a person chooses to work with will also affect how much they pay.

The same procedure for buying a typical home is used to acquire REO homes. All a person needs to do is get mortgage pre-approval, find a real estate agent who deals with REO's and make an offer on properties that meet their unique requirements. It is as simple as that.

Since many banks conduct the actual auction at the site of the property, it is recommended that you do a pre-visit to ascertain the condition of what you may want to purchase. You may consider hiring a home inspection professional to do the inspection for you. There is a fee for this service, but it is worth it especially if water damage, serious repairs, mold and other types of structural problems are identified.

By now you should know that there is no fixed price when it comes to purchasing second hand goods. For this reason, you should always negotiate with the aim of obtaining a lower price. Seller usually quote higher prices deliberately knowing very well that the buyer will want a discount. Before you commence the negotiations, you may want to visit the property in person.




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