Advantages of Buying REO Properties – Real Estate Owned Properties –

Many real estate investors focus on buying foreclosures as a means to locate properties with a lot of equity at a discounted price. I wanted to share some information on another strategy – Buying REO Properties. REOs or Real Estate Owned Properties are properties owned by a bank. These properties have gone through the foreclosure process, but no one successfully bid on them for purchase. There are many advantages to buying Bank REOs.

Advantages of Buying Bank REO Properties

• All liens against the property are removed once it becomes an REO, and taxes are paid.
• Unlike properties at foreclosure auction, REOs can be inspected prior to contract, and are listed with real estate agents.
• While many foreclosures are often in deplorable condition, REOs are typically restored to at least a readily salable condition by the lending bank.
• The bank or lending institution that owns the property will often offer financing with better deals than they would offer on traditional properties.
• The bank or lender that owns the property will often provide an allowance for certain repairs.
• You can save money in your title search if you use the same title company that the lender used during foreclosure. They will often discount the cost up to as much as 100%!
• REO properties are usually listed on your local MLS (multiple listing service), or can be located by going directly to your local REO bank‘s website.
• REOs will often times include appliances
• While in hot markets, you may not see a difference in price between an REO and a typical property, during slower markets, you can pick up an REO at discounts to the property’s actual value.

Note that lenders and banks do not like holding REOs on the books, and try to get rid of these as quickly as possible.

For more information on REOs and foreclosures, visit:

The Foreclosure Process
Where to Find Foreclosures
Bank REO Listings
Find Pre-Foreclosures
Government Owned Foreclosures
Asset Management REO companies

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.