Dear Mr. Bank, you sort of suck.
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
Seriously.
People always ask me why bank owned listings are on the market for so long. I’m happy to tell them that it is not for lack of able, willing, and qualified buyers - it’s because the BANK takes FOREVER to process the offers!
My latest and greatest example: I have been working with a young couple to find their first home. They are flexible, well-qualified, and looking for a starter home within their means. They have written SEVEN offers on SEVEN bank-owned properties and have patiently waited for a response from Mr. Bank on each one, only to get out-bid by multiple offers during the WEEKS that it takes for Mr. Bank to review their offers.
Seriously.
Finally, they wrote their best and highest offer on a house that had been on the market for one day. They love this house. The listing agent called and countered the offer, which my buyers happily accepted. I told them they were under contract. They celebrated, showed the house to their families, and started packing up their stuff.
The next day, the listing agent called me back and said that the bank now had multiple offers and wanted new, higher offers from everyone. WHAT?!
Mr. Bank, you sort of suck.
I recently listed a Short Sale for a woman who was no longer physically able to live in her cute little house. I received several GREAT offers in the first few weeks, but couldn’t get past the call center people at Countrywide to anyone who could actually review and respond to the offers. The buyers got bored, or frustrated, or mad, and walked away by the time their offers were actually looked at. In the meantime, the seller was forced to miss several payments on the house while she lived in a rental, because that is the only way a short sale will even be considered by a lender, no doubt damaging her credit and future purchasing power.
What is wrong with this picture? It really does sort of suck.
The bright side? If you have time, and patience, you will get a great deal on a bank-owned property. Just write the offers and hang in there, eventually Mr. Bank will actually look at them.
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