A note to investors:

If you would like to get on our direct mailing list for our office's foreclosure listings or you would like to have a search programmed especially to meet your criteria and alert you within 10 minutes of any property meeting your needs coming on the market, please email Marcia directly at: contactmarcia@hotmail.com

Also, we are uniquely equipped to assist investors because we also work extensively with down payment assistance and FHA buyers, which means that once you buy and rehab the property we have a pool of qualified buyers ready to purchase it.

Buying bank owned properties
There is a lot of interest in buying bank owned properties these days. A lot of information, some good and some bad, is floating around about the subject.   Often the information offered is for sale, with the promise that you can make a lot of money with little effort once you know “the secret formula”.  The fact is that there are no secrets, and to make money does require effort and knowledge.  We can help you by sharing our knowledge of the market and how much homes in a particular neighborhood sell for, on average, whether they are in "fixer-upper" condition or after remodel.

We routinely list foreclosed properties for sale for various banks and asset management companies. 

What is a short sale?  Simply put, a short sale is when the lender will accept less than the full amount due on a mortgage when a property is sold. Usually, the lender will accept the short sale to avoid the time and expense of a foreclosure.  Short sales are difficult to negotiate and time consuming.  However, we at Castro Realty Group are very experienced in short sales, both in terms of representing buyers who are looking to purchase short sales, as well as in representing sellers who need to sell their homes and find that their properties cannot sell for the amount necessary to cover their mortgage.  When we represent sellers in short sales, we make it clear and put it in writing that the seller does not pay any of our fees or closing costs--we negotiate all of the closing costs directly with the bank and include it in the short sale negotiation.  If you know of anyone who is in the difficult situation of trying to sell a home as a short sale, please have them contact us so that we can take this burden and stress off of their shoulders and use our expertise to find a successful resolution.

What’s an REO?
REO stands for “Real Estate Owned”.  These are properties that have gone through foreclosure and are now owned by the bank or mortgage company.  This is not the same as a property up for foreclosure auction.  When buying a property during a foreclosure sale, you must pay at least the loan balance plus any interest and other fees accumulated during the foreclosure process.  You must also be prepared to pay with cash in hand.  And on top of all that, you’ll receive the property 100% “as is”.  That could include existing liens and even current occupants that need to be evicted.  A REO, by contrast, is a much “cleaner” and attractive transaction.  The REO property did not find a buyer during foreclosure auction.  The bank now owns it.  The bank will see to the removal of tax liens, evict occupants if needed and generally prepare for the issuance of a title insurance policy to the buyer at closing.  Do be aware that REO’s may be exempt from normal disclosure requirements. 

Is it a bargain?
It’s commonly assumed that any REO must be a bargain and an opportunity for easy money.  This simply isn’t true.  You have to be very careful about buying a REO if your intent is to make money off of it.  While it’s true that the bank is typically anxious to sell it quickly, they are also strongly motivated to get as much as they can for it.  When considering the value of a REO, we need to look closely at comparable sales in the neighborhood and be sure to take into account the time and cost of any repairs or remodeling needed to prepare the house for resale.  The bargains with money making potential exist, and many people do very well buying foreclosures.  But there are also many REO’s that are not good buys and not likely to turn a profit.  We at Castro Realty Group can guide you through this process and arm you with the information you need to make the investment that's right for you.

Ready to make an offer?
Most banks have a REO department that we work with in buying a REO property from them.  Typically the REO department will use a listing agent to get their REO properties listed on the local MLS.  Before making your offer, we will want to contact either the listing agent or REO department at the bank and find out as much as we can about what they know about the condition of the property and what their process is for receiving offers.  Since banks almost always sell REO properties “as is”, we’ll want to be sure and include an inspection contingency in your offer that gives you time to check for hidden damage and terminate the offer if you find it.  As with making any offer on real estate, you’ll make your offer more attractive if you can include documentation of your ability to pay, such as a pre-approval letter from a lender.  After we've made your offer, you can expect the bank to make a counter offer.  Then it will be up to you to decide whether to accept their counter, or offer a counter to the counter offer.  Realize, you’ll be dealing with a process that probably involves multiple people at the bank, and they don’t work evenings or weekends.  It’s not unusual for the process of offers and counter offers to take days or even weeks.  We are experienced in all phases of this process, and will stay on top of the process and keep you informed every step of the way.