About 2 1/2 years ago the buzz word in real estate was "Short Sales." These were homes where, based on the market, the owners were forced to sell their home for less money than they owed on the mortgage. Our real estate here in Vancouver Washington was late to fall in to this market but it came none the less. These homes were being sold for a variety of reasons often times including job loss, divorce, health issues, or other financial hardships. Short sale listings flooded the market seemingly over night and buyers started to jump into the market hoping to steal their dream home at a huge discount.
Then reality hit. At the time, banks weren't prepared to negotiate the huge load of transactions that were piling up and many of these offers died while in process. The average transaction took 45+ days to negotiate with the bank before they ever went to title. Some took even longer. Much longer. I had a short sale listing in the Felida area of Vancouver Washington in which we took the offer on August 13, 2009 and didn't receive final approval from the bank until December 29, 2009. As word of these prolonged negotiation periods leaked out, buyers (and AGENTS!) began to steer clear of the dreaded short sale. Owner/sellers still couldn't afford to make payments and the banks started to foreclose on these homes.
Fast forward to today's market. Now, the buzz word in the real estate market is "REO." What is a REO? R.E.O. is an acronym for Real Estate Owned. It simply means that it is real property that is owned by the bank. REO's are the homes that the bank foreclosed on and are now being listed for sale on the open real estate market.
There is a large amount of liability and risk for a bank to own real property. The bank has to pay to have the home secured, repaired and maintained. They have to insure it. They have to pay the taxes. You get the idea. Without the proper management and care, a vacant home has a way of turning into a condemned property fairly quickly. If that isn't enough incentive to sell the house quickly, then there is also the business side of the equation. A mortgage bank's ability to borrow money from the feds and other banks and then loan it out at a profit is severely compromised if they have too many REO's on their books. The banks in this situation are very motivated sellers!
My plan is to make this information available in 2 or 3 parts. Keep your eyes opn for Part 2 - How to buy a REO Home.
When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.
Mark Hall
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - Direct links:
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - Less than $150K
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - $150K to $250K
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - $250K to $350K
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - $350K to $550K
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - $550K to $1 Mil
Foreclosures for Sale Vancouver Washington - Over $1 Million
Homes for sale Vancouver Washington
Hey there,
Banks need Real Estate Agents to help list and sell $600 Billion worth of foreclosures.
Well I am getting my share of the pie! I just bought the REO Kit here: http://tinyurl.com/d2tvnk
I thought you might want to give this a try too. Check It Out...
Best of luck ...
Eric, I have it too. I was disapointed in most of the information. Most of the contacts are outdated and tips aren't much more than common sense. Not much in it that you can't find for free right here at AR.
Mark; many stagers are blogging on Active Rain that they are now getting calls from Banks, who want to have their REO homes staged. You made the point that banks are "motivated sellers"...which puts them in the same boat as private home owners. One of the many benefits of using a home stager for a bank owned property is that stagers (my company included) will check on the homes on a regular basis, to make sure everything is in order. More banks should jump on the staging bandwagon, get these homes staged, and get them sold!
Peg, Thank you for commenting. That will be very interesting to see. The banks have always been "less than generous" in regards to what they will pay.
In the past 3 weeks I have been involved with Bank Owned transactions where various banks decided that they weren't going to pay the Washington State excise tax, weren't going to pay for a state mandated Certificate of Resale, and in one incident they required the buyer to pay for de-winterization by a licensed plumber inorder to have the property inspected.
Of course we didn't let them get away with any of this but the point is that they are trying just about anything to cut their costs or transfer them to the buyer. Just a few weeks back Fanny Mae had to force the banks to pay a fair commission for the sale of propertes with Fanny Mae loans.
Hi Mark; and thank you for your comments regarding the banks reluctance to spend any more money on properties they own. It must be very discouraging to work with a bank that won't do at least the basics required by law to get a house sold. A smart Realtor told me once "Some people (bankers included) understand price. Others understand profit." A bank that won't even pay a fair commission will find that they will own their houses for a long, long time!
I do believe that the smart, savvy, forward thinking banks will figure out that if they can get their houses sold, then they are money ahead! And we all know that the number one marketing strategy is to get each house looking irresistible; people simply won't buy ugly, cruddy houses anymore, at any price.
Condition and Staging are key to getting houses sold, and they should do it sooner than later, because a house that sits on the market forever is a drain to their business, looks worse and worse as it sits empty, and the price just goes down, down, down.
I'm confident and optimistic that things are going to start to get better soon...