Just like the news anchor in the 1976 movie, Network, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!
Are you tired of banks making all the money by making risky business decisions and then complaining that he is now losing money on those bad decisions? To make matters worse, our federal government is now saying that they will bail out and cover their losses!! All the time saying it is in "our best interest". Then there is the short sale...where the bank takes less than owed on the property....and of course write off the loss as they would in any case...but again, the little guy gets it...in the form of a potentially HUGE tax bill for the shortage....not to mention the possibility of a deficiency judgment..WOW, who wins here.....the banks of course.
I think it is time we get back what we can from the banks in one of the only ways we can. Buy those bank owned properties (REOs)....negotiate, demand and be willing to walk away from them if we don't get what we feel is a GREAT deal on the homes. Forget the short sales, the banks quite often won't approve them (why should they...the Federal Government is going to bail them out from those "bad loans" anyhow). Even if the bank does approve them, the buyer doesn't wait long enough for the bank to get back to them on the answer...sometimes as long as 4 months and occasionally even longer. Forget the auctions..even IF you have the cash required, the bank puts a minimum price that is usually too high to make it a great deal considering the lack of inspection time or ability to even see the inside of the home prior to sale. Let the bank take the home and then hold onto it long enough to make it hurt...then drop the price drastically to get it off their books....
Let's push the sale of REOs, push the limits on negotiations and get our customers some incredible values....
I am not absolving the consumer or realtors from their responsibility. In fact, I think that some real estate agents talked people into buying when they shouldn't have...connected the poor, trusting buyer to predatory lenders that hooked them up with high cost loans with lots of "POC" fees (called back-end) that are Paid Outside of Closing. All the while telling the customer "trust me". It was actions like that that gave real estate agents the reputation of plaid-coated, fast talking used car salesmen and put our economy where it is.
Hopefully there are a lot of us out there that can change that image and get our new customers GREAT values on great homes with great loans at great rates on REO properties. I know I am going to make this my challenge for 2009....to improve our industry's image and get our economy on a roll once again...with solid buyers using solid loans to buy solid homes and to try doing it on REO properties.
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