On Friday March 7th Monika and I closed on this bank owned property in East Hampstead, New Hampshire. It had been on the market for just a few hours when our buyers called us and said they they wanted to see it.Our website extracts listings from our MLS a few times a day so our customers and clients can see what is new to the market quicker than most other websites out there.
Our Buyers had just had a bad experience with another bank owned property in Hampstead where the bank’s management company took over two weeks to de-winterize the property and for our buyers time was of the essence. After much delay our clients finally walked away from that property and moved on.
Things looked good as we drafted an offer on the new listing and had a pretty quick negotiating session. We were able to save our client over $18,000 off the already below market list price.
Then the fun started! Because of the timing we needed a pretty quick closing date and agreed on just 15 days from acceptance. In the end it took 37 days from acceptance to close and I guess we’re lucky that it didn’t take longer.
The toughest problem dealing with bank owned properties is that the Banks and their management companies are so inundated with paperwork that they don’t know which end is up. Trying to get simple addendum’s signed took days and then only after we called and emailed numerous times.
The straw that almost broke the Camels back was when we were waiting for a response for a remedy to a certain home inspection defect and it took almost two weeks to get it. We kept trying and the buyer’s lender kept trying to get an answer but all we got was a big goose egg. It wasn’t until after 8PM the night before we were to close that we finally got it. Imagine going that long without anything signed?
At the same time the closing agent (attorney) was looking for an assignment that needed to be recorded but the banks management company wouldn’t return phone calls because they didn’t understand what the closing agent needed. It wasn’t until she called late in the day the day before we were to close that someone finally called and said they didn’t understand what she needed as it was way over their head. She finally asked to speak to their legal department to get it straightened out.
I guess the moral to this post is that bank owned properties aren’t the easiest to get to the closing table. You need to have a strong stomach to tolerate the needless delays and issues that arise.
Dealing with people who are over worked and probably under paid and not all that competent can be hazardous to your well being. Dealing with a Co-Broker that has way too many listings and not enough office support to do their job just adds unnecessarily to the stress level of everyone involved.
I don’t know how we did it BUT we got it closed…thanks to a diligent closing attorney who went above and beyond her duty, Jackie Fitzgerald from Maplewood Title Company and from an experienced mortgage officer Dennis Edmondson from Chase Mortgage who kept us all calm and worked with us to do what was needed to be done… thats how we got it to close. We all worked Together as a TEAM.
If you ever think that being a REALTOR is just about unlocking the door…give me a call, I’d love to tell you the whole story.
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9 responses so far ↓
1 Monika McGillicuddy // Mar 11, 2008 at 8:33 pm
You know what I think about this Jay…you did a great job keeping this together! TEAM=Together Everyone Achieves More!!!
2 Kristal Kraft // Mar 11, 2008 at 8:42 pm
You certainly have to be tenacious to get some the REO’s closed. It seems to me the bank personnel take their sweet time because of JOB SECURITY! That is probably not the case, but they do everything in their power to make the deal FALL! In your example you had to have faith it was going to happen.
We have the same issues here in Colorado.
And banks want to get into our industry?
PLEASE!
3 Linda Webster // Mar 11, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Congratulations !!! I’m trying again in Niantic and, hopefully, will be contacting you and Jay later this year.
I feel confident that whatever we do together will turn out very well.
4 chris culbert // Mar 11, 2008 at 9:29 pm
The banks are so backed-up that they can’t process the basics in this market. Also with the times comes massive layoffs. The are cutting jobs at the same time when they need people who can get the work done. I have found that the more equity in a bank owned property the longer the bank takes and it seems that they are willing to let deals fall through. I have REO’S all over the country as well as pools of 1st’s and seconds. I sold 8million in seconds for 3.5 cents on the dollar just the other day. The market is not going to be back on track for quite some time and buyers, if they have cash or great credit, can make smart money in this uncertian time.
Good luck to all!
Chris Culbert
BidonNotes.com
5 chris culbert // Mar 11, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Also, we are selling 205 Wash Pond Road. This is listed on loopnet.com. The selling price will be lower than the asking price on loopnet. This is my personal property. I will be up there this summer and want to close in August. This is not one of my notes, I bought this 1.3 acre property with a nice 3bed 1bath cottage 3 years ago for a summer vacation spot.
Any buyers out there? 4% commish to seller.
6 Sam Robinson // Mar 11, 2008 at 9:53 pm
We bought a house in forclosure at an auction. We are finally moved in but it was hell! Instead of evicting the tenant (previous owner that foreclosed) we rented the house to him for the mo. of Jan. He took that time to strip the house of everyhing. It was a newly remodled home and now has no kitchen at all, bathroom (even toilet,) light fictures, water heater…and so much more! We lucked out because he was our tenant when he stripped the houseso insurance will cover it, BUT when buying at an auction it is AS IS so there is time for the house to be stripped “legally.” Also be aware of any tax leans on the proporty which could effect your closing cost.
Still worth it though….good luck!
7 Jay McGillicuddy // Mar 12, 2008 at 8:04 am
Hi Linda, best of luck to you trying to sell your home.
Hi Chris, you are right cash buyers and excellent credit will be important as we transition through this market.
Chris, if you like Monika and I can prepare a market analysis for you to see where you will be price wise come summer time. Just lmk
Hi Samantha, you are lucky it all worked out. I can remember houses back in the early 90’s that were stripped inside and out and liens that were never disclosed, so buyer beware.
8 Monika McGillicuddy // Mar 12, 2008 at 8:59 am
One house we recently showed in Hampstead was pretty well stripped. The former owners just ripped everything off the walls…can’t blame them I guess as it must have been very traumatic to lose your home like that.
9 Where is the disconnect when buying a bank owned home? // Mar 21, 2008 at 8:12 am
[...] and I have shown and sold many NH bank owned properties and most of them have been a [...]
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