Posted by SCook85 on December 28, 1998 at 23:48:11:
Jason,
The bank is definitely motivated, especially if they have had the properties over one year. I would guess that if they have had them that long that the properties are listed or they want to much.
My advice as far as talking to the bank is this, treat the person you talk to like you would anyone else. They are not better then you, in fact when it comes to there knowledge of real estate investing you are probably far superior to them. They don’t need to know what you are going to do with the property, they only need to know that you are an interested buyer. That is all you need to convey to them. If they are able to sell the property you better believe that they will talk to you about it. In some cases when a bank owns a property that long, there are title problems that are preventing them from selling the property, in these cases the banks usually just blow you off. You also have to make sure you are talking to the person who gets into trouble when the bank owns a property to long. If you have the wrong person on the phone you will have a person who doesn’t care whether or not the bank sells.
In any event just call them. You will learn from the experience. Get them talking as much as you can, learn as much as you can. They are regular people like you and I, don’t be intimidated.
Posted by Jason_NOLA on December 28, 1998 at 22:45:58:
I have found 2 REO’s in my neighborhood (one is owned by Chase Mortgage Services and the other is owned by Mellon Mortage) and need some advice on how on deal with the bank officers over the phone so that I don’t sound like a complete greenhorn at this. What questions should I ask? Should I expect these companies to be motivated (both vacant for over a year) and are they usually flexible with price and terms?
Does anyone have a letter I can send like Joe Kaiser’s Foreclosure Letter, but geared toward these banks?
Posted by Rob FL on December 29, 1998 at 17:58:42:
My best results with banks are:
Check the tax rolls for the mailing address of the bank (or the last deed of record). Send a letter addressed as follows:
First State Bank
1234 Main Street
Smithsville, TX 11223
Attention: Manager of Real Estate Owned Department
Here is my exact wording:
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am sending you this letter to let you know that I am interested in purchasing your property located at 7890 Johns Street in Orlando, Florida. If you have any interest, please call and leave a message for Rob or contact me by mail, fax, or email.
Sincerely,
Rob FL
(Of course this letter is on my company letterhead).
They call back usually about half the time, and I always make sure they leave me a message (I always put in my letters to leave me a message so they know to expect an answering machine). That way, as Jim Piper has stated so well is his money making ideas, I can call them back on my terms. Then you ask lots of questions. What is their asking price? Will they hold seller financing? Any problems they are aware of? Etc.