REO...Not Selling? Why?

[Becky Haag]

My first post!! Getting close to buying an REO listed on the MLS. The house is brick with 1500 sq. ft. It was listed over 130 days ago and are asking $60K and has an ARV of $140K (which is what my real estate agent told me). Not sure how much the repairs will be yet. We are meeting a contractor at the house on Tuesday to get an estimate on repairs. The house was under contract until about 2 weeks ago…..when the potential buyer just walked away from the deal. There is a house next to it that is also for sale. That house was bought as a flip. The person that bought it was in the middle of fixing it up and just stopped and left everything as is. He is now selling that house. That house is a mess outside and inside. I'm just wondering if I am missing some detail that could be a deal breaker. This seems like a good deal…..just wondering why nobody has bought it yet. Would love some insight and wisdom from some seasoned investors about why this house might not be selling?

[John Teachout]

If it works out, buy the neighboring house too. Drag the neighborhood up by the bootstraps.

Many REO's are handled by some executive in an office 1000 miles away from the property so sales can sometimes be lumpy. If you like a property, keep making offers on it until you either get it or it is sold to someone else.