So you want a bargain and you think a bank owned property is your best chance to get it? Well get your ducks in a row kid! The banks won't wait for you to collect your missing quackers!
Sometimes working with REO property can be exasperating. I am not sure that I understand the full question since it looks as if you ran out of space in mid sentence. Here are some general facts about today's real estate climate.
1. You can find some great bargains, but you have to be ready to compete for them. The market is still slow, but there are buyers out there looking for their next purchase. When a great deal is available there are often several offers.
2. In order to be competitive you need to have you paperwork ready to go. The sellers' employees are extremely busy and don't have any patience with Realtors who submit offers without all the required documentation. They have posted notices listing documentation and addenda that must accompany the offer. If any part of it is missing they will not look at your file. PERIOD.
3. One part of the paperwork that MUST accompany your offer for every lender that I know of is a WRITTEN pre-approval letter. A pre-qualifying letter is not strong enough. There must be solid evidence that you are truly qualified to purchase. Without proof of your ability to purchase your offer will not be considered. The days of "get it to us when you can" are OVER, at least for now.
4. When the seller is a bank, or bank approval is needed it will take some time to get a response to your offer. Again the Realtor has very little power to speed up the process.
5. The bank can impose rules on the process and stipulate terms. For instance it is not unusual for them to demand that the buyer pay all transfer taxes. I have seen fees charged to the buyer that are called 'loss mitigation, or loss abatement". The point is that you and your Realtor need to know what your costs will be so that you can take them into consideration when you are writing your offer. You don't want to battle over the last $500 of the contract price and then find out that you will pay thousands more in fees and taxes than you expected.
So go ahead and get your pre approval letter in writing. If your bank is not cooperating get another lender. You don't have a full raft (of ducks) without a loan pre approval.
Web Reference: http://eileenmusser.point2agent.com/
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