Real Estate Education


In general REO contracts are not assignable so the investor must have a means to fund the transaction.

Banks do not want to see a lot of proprietary disclosures with REOs; they are exempt from the California Seller’s Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS-14) and if there are real estate agents involved, either representing you or the bank, those agents are required to provide you their disclosure statements.

A three percent down payment is required for Fannie Mae loans and REOs can be funded by the buyers savings, a grant or loan from a non profit organization.

Many factors are often overlooked by investors when calculating positive cash flow on an REO rental property such as repairs, maintenance, taxes, insurance, municipal fees, vacancy and a host of other potential fees and costs.

Currently, many wholesale REO's in Southern California are being tied up under contract within a few days of being listed.

Many REO investors are currently buying bad deals by basing their offers solely on the fact that the house looks cheap. This creates bad experiences that stop them from continuing their investing careers.

Investor sshould exercise caution and avoid overestimating the value of an REO property.

REO vs Short Sale. The bank will list its REO property with a real estate agent who is much more likely to understand market value than a banks loss mitigation department in a short sale.

Many REO investors use a mix of handy men and general contractor to complete their repair jobs.

Local unemployment stats should be factored in when determining cash flow on an REO property.

HomePathRenovation Mortgage Financing is special financing is available on only Fannie Mae homes you make your primary residence.

REO buyers should be aware of the following FHA loan qualification guideline: Credit report should typically have less than two thirty day lates in last two years with a minimum credit score of 580 or higher or no credit score at all.

Most REO listing agents list only REOs and no other type of property.

The margin can be low in REO's, but the risks are also low. And they take less of your time, if you just keep your ear to the ground for the right combination of events to converge.

When a Property is sold through a foreclosure auction, do not draw any bidders & does not end in sale goes back to financial institution holding the Property. This type of property is often called as REO property or Bank Owned Homes.

Ask a group of real estate millionaires how they made their money and most will recite some version of this axiom When everyone zigs, you zag. In today’s downward real estate market the axiom simply translates into buying property when most others are not and that’s exactly what REO buyers in Southern California are doing.

The large number of investors buying and renting REOs in some areas will certainly cause a sag in market rents. This should be considered when buying an REO to hold.

REO: this is an acronym for Real Estate Owned, and this used to be called the bank department that managed the properties the bank had reacquired through a foreclosure process

Buying a bank-owned or REO property may take an equal amount of time and angst, but the property will be vacant and easier to inspect. In fact, some banks will put a little money into prepping the home for a better sale for them: paint, handyman work, landscaping, etc. Homes are sold without guarantee because the bank has never lived in the home and is selling as-is.

The REO option offers many more benefits and less stress than the foreclosure auction. When a bank takes back a property they then have the property listed as a salable asset on their books. The role of a bank is to maximize the wealth for it's shareholders.