Friday, September 15, 2017

What Are Bank Owned REO Properties

By Shirley Long


If you are in the market for a new home, chances are you are looking for the best deals available. You may have searched for a home through various publications or you may have searched online. If you want to know what are bank owned REO properties are, they are properties owned by the mortgage lender or bank often called real estate owned properties and often you can get a very good deal on these types of home.

A bank owned REO property is a property that is owned by the bank or mortgage lender that did not sell at a foreclosure auction. Often you can find these properties through a real estate agent, a multiple listing service MLS website or through local banks that have dedicated sections of their website for properties they own that are for sale. You can also find these properties on real estate service websites that list available properties for sale in your area.

If you are considering investing in a reo property, you should have it completely inspected by a qualified professional home inspector to assess whether the property has any damage to it that will need to be repaired. Many times these kinds of properties need extensive repairs that can be quite costly so having it inspected will save you any future heartache and trouble.

Sometimes, but rarely, the property listed may be in move-in condition and often the bank or mortgage lender will want a higher price for the property. You can negotiate with them on this pricing or have them lower the interest rate or discount part of the closing costs to reduce the overall price you pay for the home.

Since these are former foreclosure properties that did not sell at auction, the bank may invest in having some of the repairs to the property done in order to get it in saleable condition. They may also pay off any back taxes owed on the property and invest in any other repairs that need to be made in order to sell it. Their primary objective is to sell the property and recoup their overall investment in it. Many times, however, the property is sold on an as-is basis with no warranties to it.

If you have such a property in mind for purchase, you should do your own title search to make sure the title is clean and doesn't have any liens or back taxes owed on it. Relying on the bank for this kind of information is not wise and you should do your own due diligence when it comes to learning about the property in question.

Sometimes you can find REO homes at a deep discount but be aware that this price may be offset by the amount of money you have to invest in repairs. Always have the home inspected and get a general idea of any repair costs associated with the home. You may be able to get extra financing from the bank for this purpose.

If you qualify for a bank loan or other type of private loan, try to get the best interest rates available and if necessary work out the cost of any repairs that need to be made in your total loan package, that way you will not have to come up with out of pocket costs for any repairs that need to be made.




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