Foreclosed homes are filling in the void of owner occupied listings.

There was a time when selling bank owned property was a hobby to many Realtors. Almost all Realtors sold resale homes with owner occupied status. Bank property was usually a run down property with rat poison signs around the yard.

But that has changed now. At our office meetings we are now holding classes on selling bank foreclosures and the pitfalls associated with them. Why? Because the big drop in listings created by the economy situation that has plagued this industry for the past year, and left many agents with little to show their clients. We now see foreclosed homes filling the void.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all these families who tried to get the American Dream for their families. The kids who started in a new school and religious institutions, made new friends and parents who got new jobs to pay for their mortgages, have now been caught up in the ongoing drop in house values, and the failure of name brand banks, plus the overwhelming failure of our government to protect them. And most of these homeowners attempted to do the right thing, and they lose along with the unscrupulous buyers who schemed on their application, and deserve to lose.  

But when has happen, is that many good homes that have been cared for by their owners have managed to find their way into the bank foreclosed category. What a shame. For us real estate professionals though this has created a new source of inventory to show our clients and customers. And as time goes by, banks have started to recognize that if they don't want to keep their properties forever, they have to bend a bit. Bank owned homes that our office presented decent offers for which were rejected in the beginning, are now getting more sensible counter offers from the banks. But still they take too long to respond when they do.

At our office we will continue to provide training to our agents about how to work foreclosures. I think we will continue to see a lot more of them. Personally, I liked the old way of listing and selling owned occupied homes. There was a lot of happiness to go around.