I recently found a property listed next door to my in-laws. The home has a history of foreclosures. My research reveals that the home is owned by an investor, not bank. I contacted the listing agent and she showed me the home. Some things were repaired, others were not. I verbally offered half of the asking price to the agent. She told me that in order for her to present the offer to her client, I needed to put up $1K deposit. I was just wondering is this the norm or could I set the deposit amount?
Thanks for the help.
Ken
- first i would just like to say i think a charge to put a offer is wrong but we all need to make money
here in washington i have been charged 500.00 to make a offer
I only try to deal with motivated sellers who don’t care how much earnest $. If I was selling a house & wasn’t really motivated, I’d ask for as much earnest $ as possible.
It does’nt really matter,if you’ve got 1k then put it down,if they dont accept then you get it back.Just make sure you have a back out clause in the contract like(Subject to inspection)
THe 500 is typical from the realtor, could be worse, they may try to pull your credit as well. They set the amount. If someonce contacted you, then you can do it. If you go to the property appraiser/tax collecotr or whatever, you can find out the owners name. I may be wrong but you can always send a letter to the investor, tell him that you are interested in the property and inform him that the realtor wants a 1000 deposti before he can present your offer. THen maybe set a meeting for the 3 of you. Do you know if the realtor is aware the property is in foreclosure.
steve
All terms are negotiable (including deposits). Put an offer in writing with a $10 deposit. You can choose to increase the deposit after a certain time frame (after inspection period, or after 7 days, after acceptance, etc…)
By law, agents receiving an offer HAVE TO PRESENT IT TO THEIR CLIENT. Unless they have specific language in their listing agreement that instructs them to only show offers with a certain dollar amount in deposit (or other terms, etc.) they have to present it. And no agent takes the time to put this stuff in their listing agreements.
Note: I am not a lawyer 
Research the laws in your state.
Thanks folks for all of your replies. I also read in the sales agreement that seller had to approve any assignment, which was my plan. I told the agent my plan, but she said that was a typical Fla sales contract and she could not change it. Did not believe that, so I walk away to play another day. Again, thanks for the advice, I will be back with more questions on the next deal!