# Question for realtors



## Ruralnurse (Jun 23, 2011)

Hello,

You all responded to a question I had in a previous post and I wonder if I can ask another. I am looking at a piece of property that is owned by a bank. Can I ask the realtor the name of the bank? I would like to know because I want to find out if the bank that owns it would be willing to hold the note. Or can I just come up with an offer and give to the realtor and how will I know that she actually gives it to the bank? Would I expect a written response? I realize this is not common. 

My bank wants 50% down and I canât afford that. Because this is a unique situation (the property has been REO for a LONG time) I wonder if the owner (bank) would consider my offer. But I fear that the realtor may not want me to get it at a lower price because that will decrease her paycheck? 

If the bank takes it off the market and gives it to an investor at the end of the year(which is what she told me they plan to do) , will she get nothing? If that is the case maybe she will be willing to give my offer to the bank as she may get something rather than nothing. 

Thanks for being available to answer these real estate questions! 

Ruralnurse


----------



## Bluesgal (Jun 17, 2011)

Your agent should be able see the seller info on the listing. You can also check the county property records, alot of them are online now and they will list the owner of the property as well.


----------



## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

Make any offer you feel is rational. Tell your Realtor to submit it to the bank and wait for their response. I do several RE transactions a year. A Realtor is required to submit your offer to a seller. A good Realtor will often suggest that a casual conversation about the offer take place with the seller, before wasting time on a formal proposal, but in the case of a bank, it really isn't practical. Be aware that banks have a real incentive to NOT sell REOs for less than 100% of their current market value, even if it seems like a logical thing for a responsible lender to do. They have been neither logical, nor responsible lately. Be prepared to be jerked around for a few months, and to give up when it becomes clear that the bank has absolutely zero interest in doing business in a rational manner. One of my Realtors simply refuses to do short sales, and treads very carefully with foreclosures lately. Some banks in our area will take 3-4 months to counter an offer on a short sale, or REO, and often hold firm at 100% of whatever their appraiser sets the value at. Doesn't matter if the appliances are ripped out, the grass is 3-4 feet tall, or the garage door is bashed in, they feel that you should pay as much as the guy next door is getting for a perfect property. This makes sense once you study the changes in "mark to market" accounting that the feds have allowed ( in April of '09, IIRC), and how it's better to hold a piece of garbage on the books and claim it to be worth $300k, rater than sell it for the $100K it's worth. This game is contributing greatly to the stagnation that we face as a country, but sadly, the flip side is that it allows some of the "too big to fail banks" to pretend that they are actually solvent. Don't be surprised if the property you want is still on the market years from now. Good luck.


----------



## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Present your offer to the Realtor. Insist (demand if need be) that it be presented to the owner. Real estate license law requires her to present all offers to the seller.

Insist that your acceptance or rejection be written (sellers signature).

Include in your offer an exact date that your offer will expire.

This is not about keeping the Realtor happy, this is business.

Banks like to stall to see if they can get a better offer. Contracts or offers that may become contracts need an expiration date. Example this offer shall remain open until Oct 31, 2011 at 3;00 P.M. Local time.

If they don't answer by then move on. There are about 16 million other repo houses that you have not looked at yet.

Banks like to present the image of power. Delay is very powerful. They even have marble pillars out front (at least some of them). Do not hesitate to call the shots here, it's your deal and you will get to live with it for a long time. It is not necessary to make anybody happy except yourself ( then you will know for sure that at least one person is happy).

If you really want to know who owns the house, call the county auditor in the county where the house is and they will most likely look that info up for you (the voter). County auditors get their jobs by being elected so they are usually very helpful.


----------



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I can access the tax maps for our county and find out who owns any piece of property.
See if you can do the same. Just put in your area and tax maps and see what comes up.
Then if you know the address, you can find out. Even if you only know an address in the area you can look for information on the one next to it, etc.

http://emaps.emapsplus.com/madisoncoal/
that's for Madison CO alabama. Maybe your Montana office has similar.


----------



## Ruralnurse (Jun 23, 2011)

Bluesgal - I kind of asked the realtor who owned it but she seemed reluctant and evaded the question. I had thought about getting my own agent but may just do a proposal and see what happens. If I know that she must present it to the bank regardless of is she likes it, then I will just go that way. 

wharton - thanks for the indepth explanation as to why banks do things that don't make sense. And for letting me know that it may take quite a bit of time. Time is actually on myside as I am not in a hurry. Going into winter there is very little I could do on the place except begin to clean things up and tear down the old house. 

edcopp - that is a good list to go by. I like the idea of an expiration date. That I get a written response is also very good advice. 

AngieM2 thanks for that info, I will check my state/county website. 

I wonder if I could find out what the original appraisal value was. 

warton, I understand your point that "banks have a real incentive to NOT sell REOs for less than 100% of their current market value..." This situation is that the bank (supposedly) plans to remove the property from listing and give it to an investor at the end of this year. I would assume then that it would be a "write off" for tax purposes. So it makes me wonder if they would rather have the amount as a loss for taxes or take less and sell it. It sounds like banks don't really do things that make sense.

Thanks again everyone for your knowledge!

Ruralnurse


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Bluesgal said:


> Your agent should be able see the seller info on the listing. You can also check the county property records, alot of them are online now and they will list the owner of the property as well.


I've been to several MN county websites that show ownership, value, and property tax rate. It's worth a look.


----------



## Katskitten (Aug 5, 2010)

The more I read, the more I learn, the more Excedrin's I need.  Joking aside, I have learned a lot from all of the real estate agents and their info that has been given here. And I do appreciate it even if another person is asking the questions cause they are almost the same that I am asking in my mind as I look for a place of my own.


----------



## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Ruralnurse, get your OWN Agent!!! All of the questions you are asking on this thread can be answered by your own Agent, in addition, who will present whatever offer you want presented as EdCopp wrote. Who, legally has to get the response back and present that to you, as well. You mentioned last Appraisal value? That is likely irrelevent. Your own Agent can can do a CMA to get a reasonable idea of market value. In addition, you can look up the last Assessment Value (done by your County Assessor).

If a property is REO and listed by an Agent, a Buyer is at ZERO ADVANTAGE coming in to make an offer directly through that Agent. It costs nothing to get your own Agent, as that fee is covered within the Listing Fee.


----------



## PezzoNovante (Jun 11, 2002)

Sign a Buyer's Rep agreement with an agent you can work with. Be aware, however, that you may have an established relationship with the listing agent on THAT particular property, so ask questions to avoid a future dispute about procuring cause when it comes time to pay the commission.
With bank owned property, as stated above, the bank wants the appraised value. Since it is already bank owned, short sale (offering less that what is owed on the note) does not apply. The wiggle room you may have is the age of the bank's appraisal. Unfortunately you would have to order and pay for a new appraisal to see if the value has changed in your favor.
Another benefit to having a formal buyer rep is that the agent can show you other listings that meet your requirements.
Time isn't really on your side, either. The longer the property sits unsold the better the chances that the market will improve, prices firm and then begin to rise. 
As for the owning bank carrying the note, sure they would, but their underwriting requirements won't be any more liberal than what you are seeing elsewhere. It ain't like an "owner carry" like with a private party. <g>
If you do make an offer you will be expected to put up 2-5% of the sale price as earnest money.


----------



## Bountiful Ranch (Jan 11, 2010)

This person is absolutely correct. My parents bought a home that was in foreclosure. Paying cash at not much less than the asking price the bank was asking wasn't een a motivator. Just no response. It took my parents realtor going crazy in the bank and actually telling the President as to how they make such stupid business decisions as trying not to get a house off their records with cash. He said it as you just said that it is on their books as assets. I guess that means they are worth more with homes not selling. This country seems to be getting dumber by the day to me.




wharton said:


> Make any offer you feel is rational. Tell your Realtor to submit it to the bank and wait for their response. I do several RE transactions a year. A Realtor is required to submit your offer to a seller. A good Realtor will often suggest that a casual conversation about the offer take place with the seller, before wasting time on a formal proposal, but in the case of a bank, it really isn't practical. Be aware that banks have a real incentive to NOT sell REOs for less than 100% of their current market value, even if it seems like a logical thing for a responsible lender to do. They have been neither logical, nor responsible lately. Be prepared to be jerked around for a few months, and to give up when it becomes clear that the bank has absolutely zero interest in doing business in a rational manner. One of my Realtors simply refuses to do short sales, and treads very carefully with foreclosures lately. Some banks in our area will take 3-4 months to counter an offer on a short sale, or REO, and often hold firm at 100% of whatever their appraiser sets the value at. Doesn't matter if the appliances are ripped out, the grass is 3-4 feet tall, or the garage door is bashed in, they feel that you should pay as much as the guy next door is getting for a perfect property. This makes sense once you study the changes in "mark to market" accounting that the feds have allowed ( in April of '09, IIRC), and how it's better to hold a piece of garbage on the books and claim it to be worth $300k, rater than sell it for the $100K it's worth. This game is contributing greatly to the stagnation that we face as a country, but sadly, the flip side is that it allows some of the "too big to fail banks" to pretend that they are actually solvent. Don't be surprised if the property you want is still on the market years from now. Good luck.


----------



## Reauxman (Sep 14, 2002)

I am a former agent who dealt mainly in REO property and did work both sides of the transactions many times over. Currently I am an asset manager for an REO company. 

The agent may not know which bank the note is held by. What banks do is turn the notes over to an asset management company to get sold for them as the AM has resources(Closing agents, listing agents, field service people, etc) that the bank doesn't have relationships with and it is not worth it for them to establish relationships with them. 

If the property is HUD or Fannie Mae(Gov backed/insured) they will usually have some form of disclosure on the listing. 

And just a note, for those saying get your own agent, IMHO, you are much better off with the listing agent. Most agents don't know the REO business and it can cost you not getting the asset having an agent clueless about the process. There will be specific forms required and there will be specific ways to fill them out. If they are wrong and the revisions not in on time, property goes back up.


----------



## Ruralnurse (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks everyone for all your information. I have been reading all the posts. It is certainly confusing and I had really thought about getting my own agent because of that. I contacted the listing agent with more questions and she never responded to my email. I am thinking that my own agent would at least try to get me information.

Thanks again,
Ruralnurse


----------

