Okay, the house we rented last year is now owned by the bank and they want almost 100K less than our landlord was asking for the place, so we're thinking of putting in an offer. The agent representing the property said in passing that often with bank owned properties it can take up to a month even to get an answer on your offer. Is that right? We're not talking about a short sale, here -- like I said, this is bank owned and listed with an agent.

So, when making an offer on an REO what period of time do you recommend to give the bank to respond? Are there any strategies for hurrying the process up?

Thanks in advance, you guys.

Attempting to buy a bank owned property can be very frustrating as: 1) They stink at communicating; and 2) They don't care what your timeline is. Simply put, don't expect them to adhere to any response deadline you give them. And, no, there are no strategies except to make certain your paperwork is in complete order and you have all your "ducks in a row" so that, when they are finally ready to seal the deal, you are ready to go.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jewel,

Dealing w/bank owned properties can be a headache but if you want to wait you can. One of my co-workers put an offer in on a bank owned house 3 months ago and is still waiting. Her realtor finally told her last week that the reason it's taking so long is because the current owners have that insurance plan where if they can't work the ins will pay the mortgage well I guess that ins co isn't making things easy. Second thing to think about most banks sell as is and won't deal with whatever comes back in an inspection so if they house has any problems your on your own the bank won't take money off for something that needs to be fixed etc.

Agree with Jewel -- banks don't care what your time frame is, so if you're going to put time limits in the contract for them to respond, they'll ignore them. They're on their own time schedule. If the committee meets on Wednesdays to look at your offer then you're not going to hear back from them til Wednesday. Making offers after hours or weekends will not get you an edge up in timing, because they meet when they meet, which is during business hours.

My son bought a foreclosure about a year ago. He made the offer on a Saturday afternoon. The bank's committee met on a Monday so he received a counter offer on Monday, but then countered their counter and had to wait til the following Monday for a response. He also made sure he built in extra time for closing in case problems arose with the whole process.

Do make sure your paperwork is all in order as Jewel suggested. A lot of banks are now asking for either "proof of funds" or pre-approval letters to be submitted with the offers, make sure yours is included with the offer. Be patient and be prepared to be frustrated.

Beantown-- if your friend made a offer on a bank owned property and the owners' disability insurance was making payments... it wasn't bank owned --but a pre-foreclosure. There is a big difference.

I like to work with bank owned properties better because I get faster response, and you are only dealing with the bank - not also the sellers.

The first thing is you have to know the correct info.... is it pre-foreclosure, foreclosure/bank owned or short sale. Pre-foreclosure is the longest headache ridden, because the sellers can pull themselves out of foreclosure in bringing their payments up to date..and it could take weeks to find out the home didn't foreclosure after all and...and at the last minute the sellers saved themselves.

A short sale...takes weeks..sometimes months because the seller has to show cause before the bank will approve a short sale. Many times the lender won't even approve a short sale, until an actual offer comes in.

Whatever you bid on.. allow like four five days for an answer to your offer, and tell your Realtor you want action...and not waiting a month to find out anything.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

I just brought a foreclosure. The bank that forclosed was in California. I did not have to wait. Because of the time difference the counter offer came from the bank in the evening but it was within 24 hrs.

She says the house is bank owned but the problem is the bank is supposedly going after the previous owners ins co regarding the "mortgage" payments they were supposed to make and never did, they can't sell the house until that is settled. I never spoke to her realtor I told her it sounded fishy to me when she told me two weeks ago but I don't know how that would work w/the ins co, the bank etc. I do know that most bank owned properties won't give any money off after an inspection is done most are sold "as is" or atleast in MA all the listings I've seen that are bank owned say "as is".

Yes most bank owned homes are sold "as is", so get your inspection done before you put in an offer so you know what you're getting into, or do what my son did and have the purchase contingent upon a clean inspection after the offer is accepted, knowing the bank won't fix anything, but giving the buyer an out if there is too much wrong with the home. Keep in mind that if power and water have been turned off it may be more difficult to inspect all the plumbing and electricals.