Looking for REO property or a foreclosure in Ozark?
Foreclosed upon and bank owned property purchases require the assistance of an experience professional.
For more information, simply contact me through my site or e-mail me. I'm happy to address questions you have about real estate foreclosures.
What's an REO?
"REO" or Real Estate Owned are homes which have been foreclosed upon that the bank or mortgage company presently owns. This is unlike a property up for foreclosure auction.
When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees amassed during the foreclosure process. The buyer must also be able to pay with cash in hand. To top everything off, you'll receive the property totally as is. That possibly may include current liens and even current residents that need to be evicted.
A bank-owned property, on the contrary, is a much neater and attractive deal. The REO property did not find a buyer during foreclosure auction. Now the bank owns it. The bank will see to the elimination of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally arrange for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing.
Note that REOs may be exempt from standard disclosure requirements.
For example, in California, banks are exempt from giving a Transfer Disclosure Statement,
a document that normally requires sellers to disclose any defects they are aware of.
By hiring Murney Associates, Realtors, Licensed In Missouri, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Missouri state disclosure requirements.
Am I guaranteed a low price when buying an REO property in Ozark?
It's commonly presumed that any REO must be a good buy and an opportunity for easy money. This often isn't true. You have to be prudent about buying a REO if your intent is to make money off of it. Even though the bank is often eager to offload it soon, they are also looking to minimize any losses.
When considering what to pay for a foreclosure, carefully analyze comparable sales in the neighborhood and be sure to take into account the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling needed to prepare the house for resale.
It is possible to find REOs with money-making potential, and many people do very well flipping foreclosures. However there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may lose money.
Time to make an offer?
Most lenders have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with when buying REO property from them. Normally the REO department will use a listing agent to get their REO properties listed on the local MLS.
Before making your offer, you'll want to contact either the listing agent or REO department at the bank and learn as much as you can about what they know regarding the condition of the property and what their process is for receiving offers. Since banks almost always sell REO properties "as is", it may be in your best interest to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for unknown damage and cancel the offer if you find it.
If, as a buyer, you can provide documentation showing your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender, your offer will be more attractive and likely be accepted. (This holds for any type of real estate offer.)
After you've made your offer, you can expect the bank to counter offer. At this point it will be your choice whether to accept their counter, or submit another counter offer.
Your transaction could be final in a single day, but that's usually not the case. Since offers and counter offers usually give the other party a day or longer to respond (and employees at a bank don't work nights or weekends) you could be looking at a week or longer. Murney Associates, Realtors, Licensed In Missouri is are used to working around the schedules of this type of seller and will do everything possible to ensure there are no unnecessary delays.
Murney Associates, Realtors, Licensed In Missouri 1721 S. 20th St. Suite 109 Ozark, MO 65721
When considering what to pay for a foreclosure, carefully analyze comparable sales in the neighborhood and be sure to take into account the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling needed to prepare the house for resale.
It is possible to find REOs with money-making potential, and many people do very well flipping foreclosures. However there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may lose money.