Yes REO (real estate owned) properties are commonplace in today’s economic climate.

What is an REO? It probably is not an antique trailer but often starts it’s life as a run down or neglected house that just grabbed it’s label by undergoing foreclosure by a lender.  Most of the time, the previous borrower walked away with some state of mind ranging from heartbreak to a extreme level of rage. In any case, Banks are left with a non-performing asset that they must get off their books. Some are sold as fixers to the Investor while others are rehabbed by the bank in an effort to draw the everyday homeowner to escrow. In either case, there is a wide range of both fixers and rehabbed properties on the books. The banks bring these to market in a measured and deliberate fashion in order to keep values as high as they can.  Put another way, a bank may have 2500 non performing assets on the books today but only have 50 or 60 actively contracted for sale. As some sell they release more. This is a strategy to reap as much as possible to offset the losses they suffered during foreclosure. It is not a perfect solution and often times the rehab work can vary widely in the quality of repair work. Thus extreme care and research is a must.  Consulting with industry professionals such as builders, roofers, inspectors etc. should be consulted early on in the process so to have the best understanding of what you are buying. This is not to say you can’t find an excellent buy it just means not all REO’s are created equal.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION