Living in Contra Costa County

FORECLOSURES IN LOUDOUN COUNTY VA - HELP FOR HOME BUYERS.

NEWS FLASH FOR HOME BUYERS SEEKING THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY WHEN CONSIDERING A FORECLOSURE - - -

THE BANK DOESN'T CARE!!

BUYING FORECLOSURES IS NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM BUYING A HOME OWNER SALE.  Except that can be a lot easier, if home buyers will let it be.  Why???

Because the bank owner seller has no emotional attachment to the property for sale.  In the minds of the bank employees who process these sales, REO sales, a property is merely an "asset".  It has never been their "home".  The don't see the property.  They deal with documents and numbers. 

Because the bank-owner has obtained expert real estate professionals to provide them with valuations for that property based on viewing the property, comparing the property to other recent sales and then price that property without any emotion, without any interest in the opinions of neighbors.  Banks don't really SELL properties in their portfolio, they DISPOSE OF ASSETS.

Because the bank owner doesn't have to remove furniture, pack up to move, etc. and is interested in closing the sale and "disposing of the asset" as quickly as possible. 

Because the bank will already have performed a title search when they foreclosed and will convey clear title at a lower cost to you, the buyer closing will be less costly if you agent isn't trying to steer closing.  Closing on a foreclosure is not going to be threatened by last minute title problems seen on home owner sales such as tax liens, negative equity, short sale approvals, commercial paper liens, undisclosed equity lines, seller bankruptcy filings and other problems often associated with distressed property sales by home owners.  Don't fight the bank when they want to pre-approve your ability to buy.  Often the bank will offer advantagous financing.  Look at the bottom line. 

THE BANK DOESN'T CARE!!

Home buyers who seek to buy bank owned property for sale, otherwise known as REOs or Foreclosures, often believe that, because they are foreclosures, the buyer can buy that property for a fraction of the list price.  Rarely is that going to happen because. . . . .

The property is priced with input from experienced real estate agents or appraisers. 
The price is generally ALREADY DISCOUNTED from market value when listed.
The average home buyer is buying a home in which to live, not for investment.
The home buyer who needs financing is competing with CASH INVESTMENT BUYERS.
The average home buyers often offer low thinking they can negotiate the price down from list.
Home buyers who believe that a listing agent will advocate for a lower price are wrong.

        THE BANK DOESN'T CARE!!

THE BANK DOESN'T CARE.  The bank officials who manages the Asset Disposal Dept. has never seen the property.  They have no emotional attachment to that house.  Bank employees rely on their experts for pricing information.  The bank does not HAVE A MORTGGE PAYMENT COMING DUE and can hold the property on the market until they get an offer that will produce an acceptable net proceeds.  

THE BANK OWNER HAS A BOTTOM LINE THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY DETERMINED THEY WILL ACCEPT.  Home buyers who think that the bank is interested in disposing of that asset at any cost are simply losing time giving competing buyers an opportunity to present an acceptable offer.

If you find a bank owned property that you wish to buy,

Pay attention to prior sale prices in the neighborhood. 
Don't expect to discount the price for condition, the bank has probably already done that.
Make sure that the bank has title and can close quickly.  Many bank owners will not make repairs.  Some will.
Ignore friends and relative who say you can get a foreclosure for a fraction of list price.
Make sure the offer is complete with a good pre-approval letter from a lender who can fund the loan.
Plan on a 30-45 day closing but get inspections done quickly.
Present a clean offer with as few contingencies as possible. 
Don't ask your agent to contact the listing agent for daily status.  The banks don't work that way.

If a home buyer is interested in buying a home as a discounted price, considering bank owned properties is smart.  However, the buyer MUST be realistic and understand that the seller is a corporation that makes decisions by commitee with advice from expert agents, appraisers, attorneys and don't forget. . .

THE BANK DOESN'T CARE!!

 

                              

 

"Honey, I'm so glad we listened to our agent and made a good offer on this home.
"I agree Dear, our agent had the facts to show that it was priced right.  We beat everyone."

View ALL bank owned properties for sale in Loudoun County VA as of October 16, 2011 HERE.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.

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EXPERIENCED HELP FOR HOME BUYERS IN LOUDOUN COUNTY VA. 

NEVER A FEE TO HOME BUYERS.  Sellers (including builders) pay us 3% to sell
their listing.  Homefinders.com REBATES 1/3 or 1% to you (buyer) at closing.

WE CAN HELP!! 

CONTACT US.  We are Loudoun County residents (Lovettsville) and belong to the Loudoun County Association of Realtors (DAAR).  We know the Loudoun County real estate market and understand property values, new and resales. 

Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, Email.

More Loudoun County Real Estate information below, just click the title for more.

Experience counts and Lenn has been working with home buyers to help them find their home of choice for over 30 years. 

HOMEFINDERS VIDEO  

LOUDOUN COUNTY REAL ESTATE INFORMATION
Loudoun County Homes
Loudoun County Real Estate Tour
Leesburg Real Estate Information
Lovettsville Homes for Sale
Loudoun County New Homes
Videos on YouTube for Homes for sale in MD/VA
Homes for sale throughout Maryland and Northern Virginia 

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Want to learn more about Loudoun County, VA? Join Loudoun County, VA on Facebook!

I entered into an interesting debate fueled by  a question i saw in Voices, that if you purchase a bank owned property, "Are you supporting the banks, financial institutions, fraud, bailouts and greed that created this recession? As a leading listing agent of Bank Owned Homes in the Manchester NH area I have some ideas and insight form dealing with these same institutions on a daily basis.

First in my opinion you are not supporting the bank by when you purchase a reo. You are supporting the neighborhood who will have an owner occupied home with someone taking care of it's maintenance, cleaning up an usually un-maintained home. You will support the local economy by buying goods and service to clean, repair and furnish the new home.

As far as the 'Banks" there are some very good ones to work with, i am lucky to work with some banks that have very good employees who assist with the whole listing and selling process. I have seen some other banks including Freddie and Fannie who make the process much harder than it needs to be. It is hard on the agents and on the potential buyers. From giving too many listings to only a few agents that can not possible service each and every one  of them. There are agents who do not return calls or emails, do  not answer questions, do not show up to show the property and do not update any offers you submit. This is the dark side of REO.  On the other side there are some very good REO agents and those are the ones that helping the housing industry in it's recovery.

So what do you think... Are you supporting the banks, financial institutions, fraud, bailouts and greed that created this recession?




If you are looking to buy or sell a home in New Hampshire, please call us first. We strive to provide the best in personal and professional service through each step of the buying and selling process.

If you owe more than your house is worth or are behiond on your payments, we may be able to help.

PLEASE SEE MY INDUSTRY LEADING BLOGS:

HOW A SHORT SALE WORKS?

http://actvra.in/hyn

FULL LIST OF TIPS AND ADVICE ON GETTING A MORTGAGE

http://actvra.in/hym

 

 TIPS AND ADVICE FOR BUYING A BANK OWNED HOME

http://actvra.in/hyp

'Is it possible to sell a home too fast?"

http://actvra.in/jlM

ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S LEADING BANK OWNED REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Updated  October 1, 2011

Copyright 2008-2011, All rights reserved

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Scott Godzyk
Owner/Broker
Godzyk Realty Group

One of New Hampshire's Leading REO Brokers

www.ScottSellsNH.com

Copyright 2008-2011, All rights reserved

I did a presentation in front of my BNI group on banks and how they price these Las Vegas REO homes for sale.  I started out the presentation with a question for the group.  I wanted to know how the general public perceives bank pricing.  One response was “throw darts!”

It definitely could appear that darts are thrown in order to achieve a price but it isn’t that simple.

When a home goes in default (one or several payments are missed) is actually when the pricing process begins.  The banks (or servicers) begin to order pricing reports in the form of appraisals,BPOs (Broker Price Opinions) or AVMs (Automated Valuation Models).

The timeline of foreclosure in Nevada could be as expedient as 4-5 months and can drag on for several years (for whatever external reasons such as bankruptcy.)  During this timeline, the servicers, lienholders (or investors) are ordering these reports.

They look at several things when pricing a home:

• Condition of Property
• Comparable Homes Listed & Sold
• Declining, Stable or Appreciating Market
• Average Days on Market

Most of these reports will support one another over the foreclosure time frame.  How an asset manager for the servicer or bank will react to the reports is subjective.  Many reports will ask for pricing depending on marketing time & condition.  In fact, many reports want 4-6 different prices such as:

• 30 day distressed as is
• 30 day distressed repaired
• 90 day as is
• 90 day repaired
• 180 day as is
• 180 day repaired

Declining markets also cause a host of confusion.  If it is determined that a market is declining at 10% every 6 months and the asset manager wants it gone in 3, they may list it 5% lower than the 30 day distressed price.  This is in anticipation of further deteriorating markets and to get the asset off the books in the time frame they would like to.

If the home is determined to be ineligible for financing, they may pick an “all cash price” (as is value).

And so on and so forth……..

The important thing to understand when purchasing a Las Vegas REO home (or any other home for that matter!) is to remember list pricing is NOT a firm price.  Low list prices may be set to attract multiple buyers and cash offers and a home may go WELL over that list price.  High list prices may mean the bank has time to sit on their asset (haha).  It is important to work with a Las Vegas real estate agent who is familiar with the market and can pull comparables when it is time to write an offer.

As you can see the decision isn’t made by one person – the REO listing agent.  Or by the asset manager’s dart board.  It is a complicated process which causes confusion to buyers and even other real estate agents.  I guess I can call it “the is what it is” factor.

copyright 2006-2011 Renee Burrows, REALTOR®, The Force Realty  702-966-2494

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Some REO agents are very good at what they do, and provide concise instructions on how to submit an offer on an REO (real estate owned or bank-owned) listings.

These guidelines were pulled and combined from various instructions from REO listing agents and asset managers….so this is further testimony to the importance of writing the best and highest offer.

GUIDELINES TO WRITING AN OFFER ON AN REO PROPERTY

REMEMBER

• Seller/Lender calls all the shots
• Offer is negotiated with an asset manager
• Some terms may be deleted from the formal contracts mandated/sanctioned/prepared by the State Association of REALTORS
• Conversely, some terms may be added by the Lender that may not be familiar to the Agents
• Review these guidelines with the Buyer
• Seller/Lender likely has two or more Broker Price Opinions (BPO) and appraisals so they have a clear idea of what the property is worth
• Seller/Lender are not interested in even looking at seriously low ball offers
• Seller/Lender may prefer using Title or Escrow Company of their choice.
• In some cases, Seller/Lender may pay some escrow and closing fees and/or title insurance
• Seller/Lender is exempt from providing real estate transfer disclosure statements and may not sign any or all disclosures.
• Seller/Lender relies on selling and listing agents to provide visual inspections.

DO:

• Follow instructions. Use required form if specified. Sign/initial where needed.
• Submit offers with the following:
• Pre-approval letter.
• If you are required to get an additional pre-approval letter by the Seller’s Banks, DO submit a pre-approval letter from the Lender you are planning to use as well
• Verification of Funds.
• Don’t wait for the Seller to request it. Just go ahead and include it.
• This is accomplished by providing a copy ofbank/financial statement showing how much liquid assets you have to close escrow.
• Good faith deposit check. Include photo copy. If Seller requires using their own title company, your buyer can write another check payable to the selected title company.
• Some Seller/Lender require Addendum specific to REOs. Read carefully as there is often a per diem late fee assessed for late closings and terms on that addendum that will supersede contract terms.
• Be aggressive with your time contingencies. 0-10 days for inspections is preferable. 7 days is becoming the norm
• Note that usual turn around time for contract to be returned from Seller/Lender may be 3-10 days. Upon receipt from Seller/Lender, the Listing Agent will change status of property from “Active” to “Pending”
• Start the loan process and order inspections upon verbal acceptance from Seller/Lender in order to meet your contingency periods for loan approval and buyer investigation.
• Provide agent visual inspection/observation
• Always check with listing agent regarding commissions. Posted commission is based on net of seller concessions if any, from gross sales price.

DON’T

• Don't write significantly low offers.
• Everyone wants a good deal, but unless the Buyer can document why Seller should take significantly less than asking price (i.e., contractors provide estimates of repairs, etc), don’t submit this type of offer
• Don’t change lenders, loan terms or programs during escrow. No surprises.
• Changes could delay process and subject Buyer to per diem penalty or even lose initial deposit/earnest/binder money.
• Don’t enter name(s) of Seller on any documents. Tax records do not always reflect the current seller on record. Seller name could be “Seller of Record”.
• Don’t ask for credits or repairs.
• Normally, property is sold AS IS.
• If there is a health and safety concern, this may be an exception.