Buying REO property or a foreclosure in Osterville?


	Just as with any home purchase, your wisest move is to hire a professional real estate agent. For more information, you can contact me through my site or e-mail me. I'm happy to answer any questions you have regarding real estate foreclosures.

What's an REO?

"REO" or Real Estate Owned are houses which have gone through foreclosure and are now possessed by the bank or mortgage company. This is different than a property up for foreclosure auction. Olde Cape Realty, Inc. has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Osterville, Massachusetts

Olde Cape Realty, Inc. has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Osterville, Massachusetts

If you buy a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accrued during the foreclosure process. You must also be willing to pay with cash in hand. And on top of all that, you'll get the property 100% as is. That possibly could include standing liens and even current denizens that need to be evicted.

A bank-owned property, on the contrary, is a more tidy and attractive deal. The REO property was unable to find a buyer during foreclosure auction. The bank now owns it. The bank will take care of the removal of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally plan 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 North Carolina, it is optional for foreclosures to have a Property Disclosure Statement, a document that typically requires sellers to tell you about any defects they are informed of. By hiring Olde Cape Realty, Inc., you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Massachusetts state disclosure requirements.

Is REO property in Osterville a bargain?

It's sometimes believed that any foreclosure must be a good buy and a possibility for guaranteed profit. This isn't always the case. You have to be very careful about buying a REO if your intent is to make money off of it. While it's true that the bank is typically anxious to sell it promptly, they are also motivated to minimize any losses.

Olde Cape Realty, Inc. has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Osterville, Massachusetts

When contemplating the value of 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 buying foreclosures. But there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may lose money.

Ready to make an offer?

Most lenders have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with while buying REO property from them. Usually 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 find out as much as you can about their knowledge regarding the condition of the property and what their process is for getting offers. Since banks almost always sell REO properties "as is", you'll want to be sure and include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for unknown damage and cancel the offer if you find it. As with making any offer on real estate, you'll make your offer more attractive if you can include documentation of your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender.

After you've made your offer, it's customary for the bank to counter offer. From there it will be up to you to decide whether to accept their counter, or submit another counter offer. Your transaction might be final in one 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.

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