Banks Trying to Get Their REOs Off the Books in North Jersey Finally?

REO agents in New Jersey on Bigger Pockets, are you noticing an uptick in REO listings? Personally, I have gotten 5 REO listing assignments in the past 2 weeks for a total of 9 now. None of which are actually available on the market yet.

As I blogged about previously, the banks I am dealing with are actually renovating their own REO's and want full market value for them. These renovations aren't just minor ones, I am talking $50k plus for kitchen, bathroom updates, new HVAC, roofs, etc. Just like anything with banks though, they move at a snail's pace and take forever to approve the renovations.

Bad news for real estate investors looking to pick up a distressed property on the cheap to flip. Investors, make sure you are doing your own direct marketing because the MLS is dry when it comes to good deals. When you do find a good one, move on it quickly!

Maybe the banks are finally releasing the REOs to the market after what it seemed like years they were holding onto them anticipating values to go up and not wanting to flood the market with them. With limited inventory here in Bergen County and surrounding areas, the market needs more options for home buyers, so now is as good of a time as any.

While many other states have recovered from the housing bubble, New Jersey still has a backlog of foreclosures in the pipeline. One particular REO listing I have, the occupants have not paid their mortgage in 7 years and I'm still having difficulty getting them to vacate the property despite a generous Cash for Keys offers from the bank.

I still get a pretty steady stream of Broker Price Opinions from lenders to perform on homes that are in the pre-foreclosure stage, so there are still many that will be future foreclosures.