All Forum Posts by: Melissa G.

The bank won't talk to you now. They can't do anything until the auction. If you decide to bid at the auction, be sure you have the cash in hand. They only ask for a certain percentage, but you won't be able to get a mortgage if you need once since you won't have an appraisal or inspection. If no one buys it at auction, it will become an REO, but this will take time. The bank will not negotiate with you directly. You'll have to wait until the property is assigned a realtor.

Good luck

The bank will not deal with you directly. The trustee assigned to an REO will not deal with you directly. You must go through their listing agent. If an agent hasn't been assigned yet, you'll have to wait. Expect the process to take a very long time. Nothing happens quickly especially since there are so many REOs these days.

Good luck!

Mitsu,

There are people out there who deserve a break b/c this economy has made them fall on hard times.

The homeowners I am speaking of CAN pay their mortgage. Their kids are in private school for crying out loud. They are successful business owners. They are in the situation they're in because they bought a house they can't afford. I don't feel sorry for them. If you can't afford your home, you need to sell it. We've already offered to buy the house at a price that would net them some cash. But they won't sell. Why? Because they are happy scamming their bank b/c of a loophole and their living for free! I have no pity for people like this and why should I?

An update on the foreclosure I wanted to buy at auction. I have learned that the homeowner in default has been told by his lawyer that they can "drag this thing out" for years! The homeowner thinks he can force the bank to renegotiate his loan. He hasn't paid a cent in nearly a year. I can't believe he can get away with this. It's been nearly 2 months since his auction was canceled / postponed.

Will deadbeats like this still be able to get bailed out? It's sad that people who have been paying their mortgage can't renegotiate their loan b/c they can't get refi a jumbo loan.

Steph,

That's what we've been doing. Original offers a few months ago were much higher than their current asking price. I get the feeling banks can't accept an offer below a certain percentage. We are waiting for another price drop before we submit another offer.

Where I live (MD) you don't have to close right then and there, but you do have to have a predetermined deposit in cash or a cashier's check.
Settlement is still an issue if the homeowner is still in the house b/c they won't let you in to do the inspection and appraisal that is required by the lender in order to settle. That's why auctions generally go to investors with cash as opposed to someone who wants to buy for themselves. Our local bank is willing to give us a short term loan until we can evict and do the necessary paperwork. Fortunately, we have more than half of the loan in cash so they're willing to work with us.

That may all be true, but it doesn't mean the banks are willing to negotiate. I just offered $550k on a $615k REO that's been on the market for several months and the bank didn't even counter! :roll:

This just happened with a foreclosure I was interested in. It's a stupid stall tactic. What's the point? When you haven't paid your mortgage for nearly a year, why delay foreclosure by a month? I'm surprised the courts allow it. As if our ailing banking systems haven't suffered enough. They have a right to get their money back.

You could be right, Douglas, but everything I have read says the owner has to contact the bank and show just cause for a short sale. They have to produce a hardship letter as well as financial docs.