Making an offer on REO property or a foreclosure in Vero Beach?


	Purchasing a bank-owned property is not something to be taken casually. For more information, just contact me through my site or e-mail me. I'm happy to answer any questions you have regarding real estate foreclosures.

What is an REO?

"REO" or Real Estate Owned are properties which have gone through foreclosure that the bank or mortgage company now possesses. This differs from a property up for foreclosure auction. Tropical Breeze Properties has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Vero Beach, Florida

Tropical Breeze Properties has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Vero Beach, Florida

If you buy a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accumulated during the foreclosure process. You must also be able to pay with cash in hand. And on top of all that, you'll get the property totally as is. That may comprise of existing liens and even current denizens that need to be kicked out.

A bank-owned property, on the other hand, is a more tidy and attractive transaction. The REO property did not find a buyer during foreclosure auction. Now the bank owns it. The lender will attend to the elimination 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 typical disclosure requirements. For instance, in California, banks are exempt from giving a Transfer Disclosure Statement, a document that usually requires sellers to make known any defects they are aware of. By hiring Tropical Breeze Properties, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Florida state disclosure requirements.

Are REO properties a bargain in Vero Beach?

It's sometimes presumed that any REO must be a good buy and a possibility for guaranteed profit. This frequently isn't true. You have to be prudent about buying a REO if your intent is make a profit. Even though the bank is usually anxious to sell it soon, they are also motivated to minimize any losses.

Tropical Breeze Properties has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Vero Beach, Florida

When considering what to pay for REO property, you need to look closely at 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. There are bargains with potential to make money, and many people do very well buying and selling foreclosures. Still there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may not be money makers.

All set to make an offer?

Most lenders have a department dedicated to REO that you'll work with in buying REO property from them. To get their properties advertised on the local MLS, the lender will usually use a listing agent.

Prior to making your offer, you'll want to contact either the listing agent or REO department at the bank and discover as much as you can about their knowledge regarding the condition of the property and what their process is for accepting offers. Since banks most commonly sell REO properties "as is", it's often prudent to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for unseen damage and retract the offer if you find it. As with making any offer on real estate, providing documentation proving your ability to pay may make your offer more attractive, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender.

After you've presented your offer, you can expect the bank to respond with a counter offer. At this point it will be up to you to decide whether to accept their counter, or make another counter offer. Your transaction could be settled in a single day, but that's rare. 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. Tropical Breeze Properties is are used to working around the schedules of this type of seller and will do everything possible to ensure there are no undue delays.