Understanding What A Bank REO Property Is By Joseph B. Smith

Have you ever wondered why and how a property is called a bank REO property? REO actually stands for real-estate-owned and is used to designate properties that have reverted to the bank's or lender's ownership. A borrower could have defaulted on his loan, causing a foreclosure action to be filed against him by the bank.

Usually, a notice is given to the defaulting borrower so he could have ample time to make current his account. However, if he fails to pay within the specified period, then the property will be the sold by the bank at a foreclosure auction.

Financial Opportunities

In the real estate market, a bank REO property is regarded as one of the safest investments that a buyer can have. This is because the bank typically takes care of all the liens, debts and obligations attached to the property before it turns it over to the new owner. But before a property becomes a bank REO property, it goes through an auction.

An auction is a public sale where foreclosure properties are sold to interested buyers. The goal is to recover money owed on the property. But not every property offered in an auction is actually sold. Those which fail to get any successful bid revert to the lender's ownership as an REO property.

But since a bank is not really engaged in the business of selling real estate, it has an REO department which takes care of their bank owned properties. It is common notion in the industry that banks always aim for a quick sale in order to reduce the number of non-performing assets in their inventory.

A large inventory of property is actually undesirable for a bank. This is because a huge number of properties in their yard can only cost them money in terms of their maintenance, taxes and repairs. Selling them would literally transfer these obligations to the new owner, thus, the desire for a quick sale.

This is the main reason why many investors prefer a bank REO property over any other property in the foreclosure market. They know that they can negotiate for its price, and even some repairs on the property. If you can master the art of negotiating for a bank owned property, then you can get a good bargain for yourself.