Upcoming Foreclosures

How negotiable is the price on a foreclosure owned by a bank?

Public Comments

1. Depends on the bank and the situation... Often they are very open to offers. That is how we bought our first home 20 years ago.
2. Very negotiable. Banks lose money when they own real estate. Good luck.
3. As negotiable as the price of a home being sold by any other owner. These are called REO, distressed properties that the bank wants off its books. They rarely sell at the same initial percentage of listing price when compared to standard listings due to the stigma's and risks associated with the property. Also, banks are used to getting very 'low ball' offers from investors on these properties.
4. About as negotiable as a property NOT owned by a bank due to foreclosure. You may have seen various admonishments to 'find out what was owed on the house and offer no more than that'. You will discover that the properties which went to foreclosure have MORE owed on them than they are currently worth, so forget that approach. In most cases, the bank is facing a loss on these properties, even if they sell for the asking price when listed. The loss mitigation departments of the lenders are doing their best to minimize the losses, and rarely accept a 'lowball offer'. Your best opportunity to gain acceptance of a lower offer is to provide solid evidence that your offer is actually what the property is worth on the market. It's not easy.
5. They really are not these days, it does not hurt them as much as some people think to wait this out. They are listing at much less then is owed them, it is the amount they already decided was acceptable. If you want to play the low ball game keep in mind that it take months, more then any loan is valid. When you offer a lo offer it goes through several people at the bank and beyond, the BANKS have investors too and those people also need to approve the new loss amount. If you want to get a deal on a foreclosure your best bet is to get yourself a hot real estate BROKER. That person has the know-how and contacts to get things done faster. Also, the banks really do offer them up at a 50% loss, but those houses are snatched up quickly, but someone elses hot broker. If you have someone in there pitching for you you have a much better chance of getting that home run.
6. if your thinking of offering pennies on the dollar, do not waste the paper. Most all banks are not real concerned because of the cheap availability of money from the fed and are waiting it out.
7. Not very. Lenders obtain appraisals and broker price opinions to determine real market value for the property, and they are in a position to wait for their price. Despite all the misinformation you can find on the internet, lenders are not desperate to "clear the books" or "reduce their inventories" and accepting a small fraction of what the home is worth. They have already taken a loss, and the loss mitigation department works with the Realtor to obtain the best price they can.