Bank Owned Bidding

July 23, 2009 — There are strange things beginning to happen as the real estate market begins to see signs of stabilization. After seeing nearly 3 years of residential inventories just a short time ago, we have slowly subsided to about 7 months of inventory in the Central Florida market.

With this, prices have continued to slide awaiting the thump of the bottom floor in the near future. No one knows when this time will be, but everyone is willing to take their chances that it won’t be long. In the homes priced under $200k there are two different groups of buyers. Buyer’s who are incentivized by Obama’s $8,000 tax credit, and investors who are incentivized by being able to pay cash for houses at bottom of the barrel prices.

The bidding wars are becoming prevalent with the amount of bank owned properties hitting the shelves in some areas. Banks are listing condos, townhouses, and single family houses at prices far below market value, with the intention of inducing an auction-like scenario. The problem with this for new homebuyers is that their chance of getting one of these properties is next to nothing.

If new homebuyers want to chase these properties for the low prices here is what they must know:

1) The list price should be an irrelevant consideration for your offer.

2) You must write the offer in the quickest amount of time to avoid bidding with other buyers.

3) You may have the highest offer and still not get accepted.

4) Banks play by their own set of rules, so be prepared for the ride.

If you keep these criteria in mind, know what you are looking for, and are willing to wait, you may be one of the lucky few who are able to purchase a home for much lower than the market. Be ready for the ups and downs and know that a good Realtor® can make the process seem much easier. – Justin Core