Pierce County Foreclosure | Bank Owned

I have no illusions that banks or investors will heed my advice, but I've got to get this off my chest.  The financial institutions are in a tough spot with the rising number of foreclosures and REO's they are burdened with, I understand that.

What I do not understand is their lack of business sense used to deal with this problem.  The solution seems to collect as much TARP money as possible in hopes of buying up weaker competitors while not addressing the issue at hand.

So Mr. or Mrs. Fat cat Banker, since I am now footing the bill for your lack of business acumen, here's some advice from the trenches.

Virtually every home I've helped my clients buy here in Pierce County WA over the past few months has been an REO. Even with the onerous bank addendum and sometimes slow response, the buyers are flocking to the bank owned market.

My advice to the banks and investors that are currently saddled with a large inventory of REO's and potential short sales is hire more staff.

Get aggressive in providing loan mods, staff your loss mitigation dept adequately and hire a cleaning crew/trash out for every reo you put on the market.

Loan mods will save a bank money over foreclosure in some cases, hire the staff to actively contact troubled homeowners and work with them if it makes financial sense.

Staff the loss mitigation dept. Short sales are the bane of most buyer agents and buyers currently for one reason. If they close at all it often takes 2 to 6 months. Speed up that process and you'll move more inventory and net more on each transaction. Many buyers are just waiting for the properties to be foreclosed in hopes of buying reo.

You are losing 10's of thousands of dollars on your reo's for no reason. Clean them up, make minor repairs and leave the power on! "Presto" you've got the best home on the block priced below the competition. Your reo's will sell quicker and for far more money by following this tried and true advice.

Of course these actions won't be taken. We'll see the continued erosion of housing prices due to the downward pressure in our neighborhoods from poorly marketed, filthy reo's and short sale listings that close 48% of the time.

What can the average citizen do?  There's one way I know of to profit from this situation, buy an reo, replace the carpet, paint, landscape and you are one of the few that will profit from these interesting times we are living in.

If you'd like to learn how to find the best deals in Pierce County bank owned real estate, please follow the link to my website.