Purchasing REO property or a foreclosure in Cape Coral?


	Foreclosed upon and bank owned property purchases require the assistance of an experience professional. For more information, just contact me through my site or e-mail me. I'm happy to answer questions you have about real estate foreclosures.

What's an REO?

"REO" or Real Estate Owned are houses which have been foreclosed upon that the bank or mortgage company presently possesses. This differs from a property up for foreclosure auction. Realty 5000 has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Cape Coral, Florida

Realty 5000 has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Cape Coral, Florida

If you buy a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accrued during the foreclosure process. You must also be prepared to pay with cash in hand. And on top of all that, you'll accept the property 100% as is. That could involve existing liens and even current occupants that need to be thrown out.

A bank-owned property, by contrast, is a much neater and attractive deal. The REO property was unable to find a buyer during foreclosure auction. The lender now owns it. The bank will handle the elimination of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally prepare for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing.

Do be aware that REOs may be exempt from normal disclosure requirements. For example, in California, banks do not have to give a Transfer Disclosure Statement, a document that typically requires sellers to tell you about any defects they are aware of. By hiring Realty 5000, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Florida state disclosure requirements.

Am I guaranteed a good deal when purchasing an REO property in Cape Coral?

It is occasionally thought that any foreclosure must be a good buy and a chance for easy money. This often isn't true. You have to be cautious about buying a REO if your intent is profit from the sale. While it's true that the bank is often eager to offload it fast, they are also motivated to minimize any losses.

Realty 5000 has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Cape Coral, Florida

When pondering what to pay for a foreclosure, you need to look closely at comparable sales in the neighborhood and be sure to take into account the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling needed to prepare the house for resale. The bargains with money making potential exist, and many people do very well buying and selling foreclosures. Still there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may not be money makers.

Ready to make an offer?

Most banks have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with while buying REO property from them. Usually the REO department will use a listing agent to get their REO properties listed on the local MLS.

Prior to making your offer, you'll want to contact either the listing agent or REO department at the bank and discover as much as you can about their knowledge concerning the condition of the property and what their process is for accepting offers. Since banks usually sell REO properties "as is", it's often prudent to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for unknown damage and retract the offer if you find it. If, as a buyer, you can provide documentation demonstrating your ability to secure financing, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender, your offer will be more attractive and likely be accepted. (This holds for any real estate offer.)

After you've presented your offer, it's customary for the bank to make a counter offer. At this point it will be your decision whether to accept their counter, or offer a counter to the counter offer. Realize, you'll be contending with a process that probably involves multiple people at the bank, and they don't work evenings or weekends. It's not uncommon for the process of offers and counter offers to take days or even weeks. Realty 5000 is are used to working around the schedules of this type of seller and will do everything possible to ensure there are no undue delays.