Not using a realtor to buy REO -- good idea?

[Pinaki M.]

Hello, I have never bought any REO property before, so I was wondering if it makes sense to use a realtor to do it? What I mean is, I have found a REO property myself (without realtor involved yet) and talked to the bank who is selling it. They told me that they don't use realtor and will not pay any commission if I was using one on my side (which means I will have to pay for that). My questions are

(1) If I don't want to use a realtor and were to make an offer myself, how do I do it?

(2) If I was using a realtor to represent me, wouldn't that realtor also represent the seller (since they said they don't have one)? I mean, this is how it works for FSBO, right? So why is it different in the case of REO?

Thanks.

[Steven D.]

If you have never bought anything like this before a realtor maybe of help to you, however you are not required to do so. The realtor would not be representing both sides, and that is not the case in FSBO. In FSBO the buying agent represents the buyers and the homeowners represent themselves. In this case you would represent yourself (the buyer) and the bank would represent itself (the seller) whether you used a realtor or not.

If you do want to make an offer there are often state standard purchasing agreements. I'm not sure about AR buying and selling, but I'm sure you can search around or use a previous sale of yours as a template. Additionally, you could hire a real estate attorney for a short time to draw up the required documents for you and would probably be cheaper than paying a full commission. Best of luck!