1st time homebuyer and REO's

[Lara Ghelerter]

We had just been bidding on a REO and we had supposedly come to an agreement. We had signed an original purchase agreement, but the bank hadn't signed off yet. Then we received a 5 page addendum that nullified most of our contingencies. When we refused to sign our realtor told us that the bank's addendum was common and we shouldn't try and buy an REO because the addendum was standard and every bank would insist upon the same addendum. Is this true? Is it standard for a bank to limit your contingencies to where you don't really have enough time to do an inspection and title search. And to insist upon signing away the contingencies after you've come to what you thought was a fair deal?