Making an offer on REO property or a foreclosure in Las Vegas?


	Making an offer on a bank-owned property is not something to be taken lightly.

What's an REO?

"REO" or Real Estate Owned are houses which have completed the foreclosure process that the bank or mortgage company presently possesses. This differs from a property up for foreclosure auction. Century 21 Advantage Gold has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Las Vegas, Nevada

Century 21 Advantage Gold has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Las Vegas, Nevada

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. You must also be willing to pay with cash in hand. To top everything off, you'll receive the property completely as is. That could involve existing liens and even current residents that may require eviction.

A bank-owned property, on the contrary, is a much cleaner and attractive option. The REO property did not find a buyer during foreclosure auction. Now the bank owns it. The lender will deal with 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 standard disclosure requirements. For example, in Nevada, it is optional for foreclosures to have a Property Disclosure Statement, a document that ordinarily requires sellers to reveal any defects they are aware of. By hiring Century 21 Advantage Gold, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Nevada state disclosure requirements.

Am I guaranteed a low price when investing in an REO property in Las Vegas?

It is frequently presumed that any REO must be a steal and an opportunity for guaranteed profit. This often isn't true. You have to be cautious about buying a REO if your intent is profit from the sale. Even though the bank is usually anxious to offload it soon, they are also motivated to minimize any losses.

Century 21 Advantage Gold has experience to share with foreclosures and bank owned properties in Las Vegas, Nevada

When contemplating the value of 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. The bargains with money making potential exist, and many people do very well buying foreclosures. Still there are also many REOs that are not good buys and may not be money makers.

Ready to make an offer?

Most mortgage companies have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with when buying REO property from them. To get their properties advertised on the local MLS, the lender will typically 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 learn as much as you can about what they know regarding the condition of the property and what their process is for receiving offers. Since banks typically 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 unknown damage and cancel the offer if you find it. If, as a buyer, you can provide documentation showing your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender, your offer will be more attractive and likely be accepted. (This goes for any type of real estate offer.)

Once you've made your offer, it's customary for the bank to make a counter offer. From there it will be up to you to decide whether to accept their counter, or make another counter offer. Your transaction could be final 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. Century 21 Advantage Gold is accustomed to these situations and will work to ensure there are no undue delays.