SYNRGYdesign

Since we had never bought a bank owned house before or REO as they are called, we really didn’t know what we were getting into when we purchased the house.  The experience was an eye opener and I think we can now write a book about buying a bank owned home.  That being said, there are a few things we definitely learned and will probably do differently the next time around (yes, I know I am saying the next time around even though I have been swearing this is the last time I am going to move - but I am not opposed to buying another house - I just do not want to move again).  REO’s are a great way to get a good deal if you can see beyond the mess that the house is probably in.  Everything everyone says about buying a house from a bank is true.  They are very slow.  They do not respond back as quickly.  You have to be willing to walk away if you do not get the things you want.  They (the banks) are treating it as a business transaction and so should you.  That is the biggest lesson I have learned from buying this house - actually from looking for homes this time around versus when we bought our first house almost 9 years ago.  When we bought our first house 9 years ago, we were both very young and the term property virgin was probably written on our foreheads so big that every realtor we saw when we went into open houses couldn’t miss it.  We did not know what we were looking at.  We had a price we could afford.  We sort of knew the areas we wanted but we did not think about things like schools or things like that.  We just wanted to get our feet wet and do some home remodeling.  We did not really look at the different neighborhoods.  We just went to open houses or drove by places we saw online.  We did not consider things like how many rooms or lot size.  We just walked into each house to see if we liked it and then walked out.  Fast forward 9 years and 2 kids and our home buying this time was completely different.  Our locations were narrowed down by what schools we wanted to have our kids go to.  We drove around  the neighborhoods endlessly to see what they were like during different times of the day, different days of the weeks, and during the holidays.  We wanted a kid friendly neighborhood so we looked to see who put up decorations during Halloween and Christmas.  We wanted a big lot - as much as we could afford - and a house big enough for the 4 of us.  Price drove the search just like it did 9 years ago but we had a lot more needs this time around that had to be met and we knew more about what it took to fix up a house.Back to the REO lessons.  you can spend hours looking at houses online and in person.  REO homes are not like your typical house.  I have learned that an REO home means expect the worse especially in these tough economic times.  You have to look at an REO house differently then a regular house that is for sale by the owner.  The banks do not know a thing about the house so forget about the disclosures.  They will not give you any.  They do not know what they are.  I mentioned earlier about treating it like a business transaction.  You cannot fall in love with the house.  You have to think of it as a business transaction just like the bank.  The more you talk like them the easier it will be for you in the long run.  We walked away from another REO that we put an offer on because we would not budge on our price.  I am glad we did not buy that first REO because the one that we got is a lot better and we got it for a lot less then the first REO sold for.  That is another lesson we learned.  There will always be another house for sale and it might even be better.  At a certain point you cannot keep thinking there will always be another one because then you will never get a house.  You will always be waiting for the perfect one.  If you can learn and accept there is not one perfect house that will fit all your criteria but  there is one house that will have most of your criteria then you will find that house.   If you treat buying an REO like a business transaction and are prepared to walk away, knowing you might be able to find another house given the time, you will be able to negotiate a lot better with the banks.  Remember to talk their language and you will find they will start talking back to you and you may just find a house - we did. 

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