Submitting Bank Owned Offers the Right Way!

People everyday ask me: ”How do you get offers accepted by the bank owned real estate broker?” I tell them, “You need to make sure your offer is priced correctly”. But in reality, it’s far more complex than that. There’s a variety of things that will aid in your quest of obtaining a property and here I will reveal to you what they are…

1. Pricing – Be reasonable and think a little. If a house just came on the market yesterday for $100,000, and you low-ball them a $70,000 offer, chances are, your offer gets trashed and so will your credibility. Now I am not saying to lowball, but only do so when it’s the proper occasion. The previous would be a bad example of when to lowball. It’s hard to believe, but the Lenders also have minds and they place smart people in charge. They know that when they first put a property out, they would not take the measly low offer because they are testing waters. Plus, chances are likely that there are already many more offers higher than yours. So don’t waste your time and the realtor’s time submitting offers that will never go through – especially when properties first hit the market.

Now if you want to lowball, do it on the homes that sit on the market for 3 months or more. Keep in mind, the banks still want to get these suckers sold, so when you see a property just sitting on the listings without any action, give them an offer. Chances are A LOT higher that they will accept a lower offer in this occasion simply because they aren’t getting any other interest and therefore, no other offers.

2. Proof of Funds – When buying bank owned homes, this is a must. If you do not have this one piece here, stop all procedures and acquire it first. Otherwise, you are again wasting your time, and other people’s time and probably killing trees in the process. Lenders, asset management companies and even the broker’s will not even pay attention to your offer if you do not have a proper Proof of Funds. Now Proof of Funds can come in a couple forms. It can be a copy of a bank statement showing the money available in cash. It can be a pre-qualification letter by a lender for a mortgage. It can even be a letter authorizing an individual access for a certain amount of cash (of course must be secured by real funds). Most lenders prefer cash proof of funds and payment in cash. Why? Well, because it means they can get their home sold faster and easier. No mortgage work and none of that non-sense. It’s just a straight up As-Is sale. So if you are looking to offer to bank owned homes, please make sure you have proof of funds. If you got the cash, great, get it in writing (black out your account number). If you have friends who got the cash, great as well, get it in writing. If you need a mortgage, go to a mortgage broker and get a pre-qualification letter ASAP.

3. Outrageous Terms – These are bank owned deals, so you know the lenders want them gone, but again, these guys that did a number on our economy can still process and analyze information. Therefore, if you put outrageous terms in your contracts, you might as well not submit an offer at all. Here’s some examples of outrageous terms…

A. 30+ Day Inspection Period – Now 30 days is already really pushing it. Unless you got some previous background on the deal, don’t ask for more. You will more than often get denied.

B. Assign-ability - Just make sure this is checked as no. The assigning days of these contracts are long gone. Sorry, you missed out! You check mark this box and your offer becomes a paper basketball.

C. Tiny Deposit Amounts – Ten bucks ain’t gonna cut it here. In South Florida, it’s normal to see $1,000-$2,000 deposits on 50K-120K homes. Make sure you have a proper deposit on the line, otherwise, the wills think you are just fooling around and pay no mind to your offer.

D. Far Away Closing Date – Don’t close next year… Banks want homes gone Fast. You put a closing date that’s months away, and even if your offer is better, they will take the lower one who wants to pay up in the next 3 weeks. Make sure your closing date is within feasible range. 30 days or about a month is standard. You can put less if you really know what you are doing or if you really want to buy that particular property.

So what else can you do to make sure your offer get’s accepted? Well, that’s for the next article. There’s one last key element that can get you the good deals and cut your competition out. We will go over that next time.