Series of REO Questions

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hello All…

First time to the board and I’ve yet to pull the trigger on my first REI…but anyway I have a few questions pertaining to REO’s, so I’d like to here your thoughts.

First, let me explain the situation here in MI (that I believe to be true) Owners have 6 mo. after sheriff sale to bring the note current. So it’s a fairly lengthly process. But even after the 6mo period I notice many REO’s still don’t hit the market (some even after 1 yr.) and are clearly vacant. In summary: the bank owns it, but it’s not listed yet. So my questions are:

I assume the bank’s loss mit department is the one who would handle that property, correct?

If so, will they listen to dummies like me to try to work a deal?

Is there a tatic to take with them that works better than others?

Do they typically let you in the property before a deal reached?

I’ve had realtors tell me that the only way to buy a REO is to wait until it’s on the market because the bank sells those notes to large firms for pennies on the dollar and then they own it. That might be the case for some, but it’s hard to believe every situation is like that. I’m just curious to hear your thoughts.

PhiloB.

2

Howdy PhiloBeddo:

Once it is owned it is transfered to the REO Dept in a lot of bigger banks. Some or even all may be Va foreclosures or HUD. These are then transfered to the Govt. Also banks get bought and sold and merge and property is also in limbo during this process. Bank one and Chase were recent merger or buyout. It can become complicated to say the least. Years ago when the RTC was involved it was really complicated. You can become very frustrated trying to contact banks to find if a property is for sale. Once you have contacts you may find it smoother. Most banks do use Realtors but you may still be able to buy junkers directly from the banks.