bank-owned property

I saw a property that I am interested in, I talked to the listing agent and he told me that it was bank-owned so owner-financing not available and that two offers had already been submitted. He said that the offers were extremely low.
The next day I called him back to talk to him about making an offer, but he won’t return my phone calls.
Am I supposed to find my own agent and have my own agent call him? Or do I contact the REO dept. (I don’t have their #) It looks like the bank is US Bank or JP Morgan?
Any help would be appreciated. Thank You. :help

You left out a lot of info about your own situation.

  1. What’s your REI experience?
  2. Do you have financing lined up?
  3. Do you know how to write up an offer yourself?
  4. Do you know how to evaluate a property’s value?

That being said, I suppose you can contact the bank REO dept. Tell them EXACTLY what your intentions are. If you’re an investor, tell them who you and what you’re looking for.

The guy has called me back and we are meeting at the property at 3:00. (Actually his office called me to ask me to call him, ???)

But here are my answers anyway. Thanks.

  1. I would say I am moderately experienced. Own several properties. Have bought a couple of them without a realtor, but it was from people that I knew personally.
  2. Yes, I am using cash from LOC on another property.
  3. I do not know how to write up an offer.
  4. Yes, I am very clear as to what I am willing to pay for this property.

All I know is that they are out of state, so I have no idea how to get in touch with the REO dept.

Find out if the REO is listed with a Realtor…if so, get your Realtor to help you write the offer. In all likelihood, they will want the offer to look a certain way and will most likely have some addendums that they’re going to want…

Keith

Finding a buyer agent with investment property experience is helpful. They’ll be able to properly write offers on your behalf. Good luck.

Thanks for your help. I went ahead and let the listing agent also be my agent and submit the offer.

I have not had good luck finding an agent that I like, it seems that the agents that are competent and understand what I am trying to do, are the ones that are investors themselves. So I know that they would buy up any great deals that come their way.

Thanks again!!

I don’t agree with the idea of the agent working bith sides. How do you know your interests are protected? Since you’ve already signed on with him, just make sure you stick to your criteria and numbers. Don’t take the agent’s advice. The #'s will work or they won’t. Be VERY leary of this situation. Also, there are plenty of deals to go around. If you think these other agents are competent and understand your criteria, give them a chance. Besides, you can’t buy every property out there. Good luck

I have not had good luck finding an agent that I like, it seems that the agents that are competent and understand what I am trying to do, are the ones that are investors themselves. So I know that they would buy up any great deals that come their way

No offense, but that’s truly a newbie mind thought that WILL cost you money. Think about that for a minute. They’ll buy up ALL the good deals? Now, most agents that I know that are successful AS agents, as well as investing, simply don’t have the time to buy up ALL of the good deals in an area, even if they actually had the money to do so.

Also, an agent has a duty to his client (if it’s YOU) which means that they CANNOT use any knowledge of what you do AGAINST you. In other words, they can’t make an offer for you on a property AND make a higher and/or better offer for themselves on the same property, using that knowledge.

I also agree that you should have an agent that works for YOU. Another error-thought by investors is that an agent will work harder for you IF they are getting both sides of the commission. In short, that’s so WRONG. First, if they are double-dipping, then they probably represent both parties. If that’s the case, then they will actually do LESS for you because they can’t do much of anything other than be a paper-pusher at that point. Second, in practically every REO agent that I’ve known, the ONLY deals that they ‘push’ are the ones from investors, be it their client or another’s, that they know has the best chance of closing.

If you are using the listing agent make sure that they DO work for you. Sign a buyer’s agent agreement and a dual agent (or state’s version) form. Otherwise, they are still only working for the seller and NO ONE is working for you.

Raj

Trust me, dual agency is not a good thing for the buyer. No matter how ethical the agent they are usually going to keep the seller’s interest in mind first. For one thing they’ve been working with the seller for awhile and the buyer is the newest party in the deal. Second, catering to the seller’s needs gets the property sold and if your deal falls through you go away but the seller remains. Lastly, you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you’re wondering if your agent has done everything in their power to help you.

Find yourself an agent that is also an investor. As Roger said, there’s no way that they’ll be able to buy up all of the deals. Not only that, if you’re a serious investor they will want your repeat business and referrals. Most of the time they are an agent first and see their commission as a type of wholesale fee (to put it into terms that us investors understand).

Hopefully your deal goes well though. Let us know what happens.

Mike

Thanks for all of your advice. It really makes sense. I will work on finding my own agent for any future deals.

Im a newbie but Someone please explain how a buyer agent would help with REO properties.

this is my understanding (newbie) the bank owns the property. the listing agent show’s the place and hopes someone makes a offer that the bank will accept.

what can a buyers agent do to give you any advantage ?? the bank makes the final say on what price is accepted. the listing agent doesnt tell the bank " i think we can get more for this property. reject the offer and lets see if we get a better one"

also wouldn’t the investor have to pay 3% commision to the buyer agent also ??

If you are thinking that you will have to pay your buyer’s agent a 3% commission on top of what you are paying for the property, then let’s change that thinking. If the bank has a listing agreement with a real estate broker, then the bank will pay the sales commission. The listing broker will share the sales commission with any other agent (the buyers agent) who cooperates in the sale.

What you don’t appreciate is that the listing agent has a fiduciary responsibility to the bank, not to the buyer. Yes, the bank may make its own decisions on whether to accept a purchase offer, but the listing agent still has input. The bank may ask the listing agent whether the offer is the best that can be done in the marketplace. The listing agent may have had many showings and the level of interest in the property might suggest that a better offer could come in. If the listing agent says that he thinks that the bank can do better, then the listing agent is fulfilling his fiduciary responsibility to his client.

If you use the listing agent and not your own agent to make offers, then you have no one working for your interests. You have no one presenting the case that your offer may be the best available at the moment and is likely to be for quite some time. Your agent can at least help present your case.

The best analogy for dual agency is: Having the same lawyer represent both the plaintiff and defendant.

I thought you make an offer and the REO owners (bank) looks at it and rejects, accepts it or counters it. Does the buyer agent talk to the bank or they add remarks to as why this offer should be accepted along with the offer.

If the buyer’s agent is good, your offer will include justification for your offer. Average days on the market, lower comps than the bank’s BPO, and rehab estimates can all be submitted with your offer if they help justify your less than full price offer.

The listing agent is not going to do any of that for you.

Deal, that is the best comparsion I’ve seen yet. I’m going to use that!

And of course, it’s only true if it’s a dual agency. More than likely, it’s a seller’s agent relationship only, thereby offering the buyer NO representations, period.

Pros to a buyer’s agent: Besides justifying your offer, a good agent would also be helping you decide what you SHOULD be offering for the property in the first place. The listing agent is NEVER going to do that. Or, for that matter if you should be making an offer at all. If you go to contract, the buyer’s agent is going to be working for you, making sure that the contract is setup correctly, in your favor as much as possible, and that everything is done correctly and on time. In short, they are working for you and your interests.

Raj