Bank-owned

Real Estate Owned (REO)

If the lender or bank takes ownership control of the property, either through an agreement with the owner during pre-foreclosure or at the public auction, the lender will most likely re-sell the property to recover the unpaid loan amount.

The lender typically will then clear the title and perform any maintenance and repair on the property; however, the potential bargain for these REO homes is typically less than a pre-foreclosure or auction property.

In the case of a government foreclosures where the loan is backed by a government agency such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA),then that case the government agency would be responsible for selling the property.

If the property is Bank Owned (REO), your first step is to contact the lender, whose information is usually on the county assessors website or available thru our service.

You should contact the lender directly and ask for their REO or asset management department to find out how you can view and make an offer on the property.

At this stage it is understandable that the property has gone through the entire foreclosure process and has now been repossessed by the lender.

Evaluate the property’s value and check for any additional loans or liens encumbering the property so that you decide if the property is a good investment.

Index Records has the name of the lender/bank listed on the property, but if you have trouble finding a phone number or address for them through the Internet or otherwise, below are suggestions for tracking down the lender.

1. Contact a local real estate agent in the in the property's city who can help you contact the lender and who can check if the property is already listed on the market with a real estate agent.

2. Other records may have more information, such as the lender name, address and phone number that was missing on the original property record.

3. If the property is not listed with an agent, then you will need to contact the lender directly.

4. You can contact the local property assessor to find out the owner’s name and mailing address. Since the property is bank owned, the property assessor should have the bank or lender listed as the owner. Go to www.statelocalgov.net to find the local property assessor in your area.

How to Contact Owner:

Many of the government-owned properties are listed with a real estate agent. If the listing agent's information is not available, you can contact a local agent , or you can try to contact the government agency listed directly.

STEP 5. Make an Offer
If you have never purchased a foreclosure property before, we recommend that you have a real estate agent help you prepare and make an offer. Contact an Agent to find a local real estate agent in the the property's market city.
To get an estimate of the potential bargain for any property, you need to find out the estimated market value of the property, how much is owed on the property and if the owner has any other loans or liens encumbering the property.

Add together any outstanding loans and liens and estimated repair costs and subtract that total from the estimated market value of the property.

Based on your research, you can make an offer. Usually the offer amount is somewhere below the market value but above the total outstanding liens and estimated repair costs. If the property is a pre-foreclosure or bank owned, you could prepare an offer similar to a typical purchase offer, contingent on a full inspection and title search.

If the property is selling at auction, you will need to make your offer or bid at the auction. In many states, bidders are required to pay in cash in the form of a cashier’s check at the auction. You probably won’t be able to conduct a full inspection and title search when you buy at an auction, so it’s important to do careful research before attending an auction.