Tales From The Foreclosure Front, Part Two

In the past week, I've helped three different buyers purchase and close on bank-owned properties. In each case, the buyer bought under market value with the amount saved ranging from $7,000-20,000.

Here are a few pointers when considering bank-owned properties:

• Be patient when making an offer. Every bank is different in the way they respond to offers. You could get an answer back the next day, but I've also heard of buyers waiting for a response for months.
• Don't expect a lot of concessions. Bank-owned properties are sold "as is" and they don't want to put one more penny into them than they have already.
• Ask the Bank to turn on the utilities for the inspection and dewinterize if necessary. Although the bank may say buyer is responsible for utilities during the inspection, all three banks agreed for my buyers. One even agreed to dewinterize again at the closing.
• Don't rule out private sellers. Many are motivated and have priced their homes aggressively to compete with the banks. The condition of the property is likely to be better than a neglected and/or abused bank-owned one.