Purchasing REO property or a foreclosure in Montclair? 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 homes which have been through foreclosure and are currently owned by the bank or mortgage company. This differs from real estate up for foreclosure auction. If you buy a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accumulated during the foreclosure process. The buyer must also be ready to pay with cash in hand. Finally, you'll accept the property entirely as is. That possibly will involve current liens and even current denizens that need to be evicted. A bank-owned property, conversely, is a much cleaner and attractive option. The REO property didn't find a buyer during foreclosure auction. Now the bank owns it. The lender will take care of the elimination of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally prepare for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing. Take notice 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 normally requires sellers to disclose any defects they are informed of. By hiring Dale Barr, you can rest assured knowing all parties are fulfilling Virginia state disclosure requirements. Am I assured a good deal when investing in an REO property in Montclair? It is sometimes assumed that any foreclosure must be a good deal and a possibility for easy money. This isn't always true. You have to be very careful about buying a REO if your intent is to make money off of it. While it's true that the bank is typically eager to offload it fast, they are also motivated to minimize any losses. When considering 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 flipping foreclosures. But there are also many REOs that are not good buys and not likely to turn a profit. Prepared to make an offer? Most mortgage companies have staff dedicated to REO that you'll work with in buying REO property from them. To get their properties advertised on the local MLS, the lender will frequently 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 their knowledge regarding the condition of the property and what their process is for accepting offers. Since banks almost always sell REO properties "as is", it's often prudent to include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for hidden damage and cancel 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. Once you've presented your offer, it's customary for the bank to make a counter offer. At this point it will be your decision whether to accept their counter, or make another counter offer. Understand, you'll be working with a process that usually involves a group of people at the bank, and they don't work evenings or weekends. It's quite common for the process of offers and counter offers to take days or even weeks. Dale Barr 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.

                                                                                                        
  DALE BARR  PH: 703 730 2272
is a Licensed Agent with
BARCO 
Ph:/Fax: 703 730 2272
    15786 Moncure Ct. 
                            Montclair, Virginia  22025