Many people ask "How do I make my offer stand out" when purchasing a bank owned home. They realize after making a few offers that low ball offers wont cut it in this market on homes in good condition in location under $200,000. 

As an REO listing agent myself here in Orlando, FL I have a few tips to helps those out there struggling to get their offers accepted. 

Each bank is different but I find the below information holds pretty true with most the banks that I work with,

Tips for making an offer:

• Banks prefer offers with high down payments and low risk of rejection, which makes cash offers king, followed by conventional loans, FHA and then VA loans if no other offers are available.
• The do not want to make repairs to the property (If you need that you need to make sure to sweeten the deal for the bank upfront)
• The bank is looking for the offer that nets them the most amount of money, however they are looking for low risk as well.(Buyers remember this when asking for closing costs)

Multiple Offer Scenario on an REO property:

An Orlando bank owned property was at $200,000. Buyer A is a cash buyer offering $125,000 as-is, no concessions or contigencies.

Buyer B has a conventional loan, offer price $190,000 with 20% down and no request for closing costs or repairs.

Buyer C has an FHA loan, offer price $205,000 with 3.5% down and closing costs assistance of $5000.

The bank took offer number 2 because while it didnt net them the most out of the buyer is was close to asking and had the least amount of risk that the deal would not close. For the FHA loan to entice the bank to accept their offer either eliminate the need for closing costs or go higher in asking price making the net hard to refuse to the bank.