Interested in REO property or a foreclosure in Lincoln?


	Making an offer on a bank-owned property is not something to be taken lightly. For more information, just contact me through my site or e-mail me. I'm happy to address questions you have about real estate foreclosures.

What is an REO?

"REO" or Real Estate Owned are houses which have gone through foreclosure that the bank or mortgage company currently owns. This is unlike real estate up for foreclosure auction. American Dream Financial and Real Estate has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Lincoln, California

American Dream Financial and Real Estate has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Lincoln, California

When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accrued during the foreclosure process. The buyer must also be prepared to pay with cash in hand. To top everything off, you'll get the property entirely as is. That possibly will consist of current liens and even current residents that need to be evicted.

A bank-owned property, conversely, is a more tidy and attractive deal. The REO property was unable to find a buyer during foreclosure auction. The bank now 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 normal disclosure requirements. For instance, in California, banks are not required to give a Transfer Disclosure Statement, a document that ordinarily requires sellers to disclose any defects of which they are informed. By hiring American Dream Financial and Real Estate, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling California state disclosure requirements.

Am I assured a bargain when buying an REO property in Lincoln?

It is frequently presumed that any foreclosure must be a good buy and a chance for easy money. This isn't necessarily 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 eager to sell it quickly, they are also looking to minimize any losses.

American Dream Financial and Real Estate has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Lincoln, California

When contemplating what to pay for REO property, carefully analyze 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. It is possible to find REOs with money-making potential, and many people do very well flipping foreclosures. However there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may not be money makers.

Prepared to make an offer?

Most lenders have a department dedicated to REO that you'll work with while buying REO property from them. Usually 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 what they know about the condition of the property and what their process is for getting offers. Since banks usually sell REO properties "as is", it may be in your best interest to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for hidden damage and withdraw the offer if you find it. As with making any offer on real estate, you'll make your offer more attractive if you can include documentation of your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender.

After you've presented your offer, you can expect the bank to counter offer. At this point it will be your decision whether to accept their counter, or offer a counter to the counter offer. Your deal might be settled in a single day, but that's usually not the case. 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. American Dream Financial and Real Estate 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.