offering on an REO

[DJ Cummins]

Happy Friday everyone!  Quick question... I'm think about making an offer on a bank owned property.  How low of an offer do you generally make?  Is there a certain percentage that banks will take from an offer?  Just wondering if there are any tricks of the trade with this.  Thanks!

[Joe Villeneuve]

I'll give my answers in revers order of when asked above:

@Greg Baur Make any offer, the bank usually will dictate what they will accept.  Just have your REA ask the listing agent for the bank.  There is an approved amount already decided in most cases, and in most cases they will let you know what that is.

Now comes the fun part.  If and when there's an agreement, if you agree too fast, the bank will change their mind.  So, the most important factors in dealing with short sales is this...."patience"...and a lot of antacids.

@DJ Cummins It doesn't matter what the banks will/won't accept when you make your offer.  You make your offer based on your numbers.  If the bank accepts...great, if not...then you move onto the next deal.  YOU NEVER accept a counter from a seller based on what they will accept...only based on what your numbers tell you.  This isn't a contest to acquire properties, it's a contest to acquire profit.  Never confuse the two.

The numbers ($$$$$) don't lie...never argue with them...you'll lose every time.

Oh, and rationalization leading to fudging your numbers is negotiating against yourself.