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Interested in REO property or a foreclosure in Southport?
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Just as with any home purchase, your smartest 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 glad to answer any questions you have about real estate foreclosures.
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What's an REO?
"REO" or Real Estate Owned are houses which have gone through foreclosure that the bank or mortgage company currently holds. This is different than a property up for foreclosure auction.
When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees added during the foreclosure process. The buyer must also be willing to pay with cash in hand. And on top of all that, you'll accept the property totally as is. That may involve existing liens and even current occupants that need to be thrown out.
A bank-owned property, on the contrary, is a more tidy and attractive proposition. The REO property was unable to find a buyer during foreclosure auction. The bank now owns it. The lender will see to the removal of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally arrange for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing.
You should be aware that REOs may be exempt from standard disclosure requirements.
For example, in Nevada, it is optional for foreclosures to have a Property Disclosure Statement,
a document that usually requires sellers to disclose any defects they are informed of.
By hiring Southport Realty, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling North Carolina state disclosure requirements.
Is REO property in Southport a bargain?
It's frequently believed that any foreclosure must be a steal and an opportunity for guaranteed profit. This isn't always true. You have to be prudent about buying a repossession if your intent is make money. While it's true that the bank is typically anxious to offload it quickly, they are also motivated to minimize any losses.
Look carefully at the listing and sales prices of competing homes in the neighborhood when making an offer on an REO. And factor in any repairs or upgrades necessary to prepare the house for resale or moving in.
The bargains with money making potential exist, and many people do very well flipping foreclosures. But there are also many REOs that are not good buys and not likely to turn a profit.
Time to make an offer?
Most banks have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with when buying REO property from them. Normally 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 accepting offers. Since banks usually sell REO properties "as is", it's often prudent to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for unknown damage and retract the offer if you find it.
As with making any offer on real estate, your offer may be more attractive if you can include documentation of your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender.
Once you've submitted your offer, it's customary for the bank to make a counter offer. Then it will be your choice whether to accept their counter, or submit another counter offer.
Your deal might be settled in one day, but that's rare. Since offers and counter offers usually allow a day or more for the other party to respond (and employees at a bank don't work nights or weekends) you could be looking at a week or longer. Southport Realty is accustomed to these situations and will work to ensure there are no undue delays.
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www.southportrealestatebykatherine.com
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