We like to take our clients through the process of making offers on Scottsdale foreclosures step by step. We know that most people have never tried to buy a foreclosure before and it is new territory. Purchasing a foreclosure home is definitely a different process than buying a typical resale. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- The bank has control of the situation. If you don’t want to play the game by their rules, you don’t have a chance of succeeding with an offer. That means you jump when they say jump, you wait when they say wait.
- Your offer will be negotiated with an asset manager who is usually a disinterested employee. That is to your advantage because they are not emotional Sellers.
- Some terms may be deleted from the standard Arizona Residential Purchase Contract. The bank has its own additional addendums to the contract which supersede the standard contract terms.
- The banks have generally done appraisals on their homes and have a clear idea of what the property is worth. They want as much as possible for their property (like any other seller) but is usually willing to sell for 10% under market value – depending on number of offers.
- The banks are not interested in low ball offers unless the home has been on the market for 200-300+ days. A low ball offer is anything less than 20% off of list price. Offers like that are usually a complete waste of time, ink and paper.
- The bank gets to choose the Title or Escrow Company of their choice. This is opposite from a normal transaction where the buyer gets to choose the title company.
- The bank will not provide all disclosure statements including the Arizona Sellers Property Disclosure Statement and will not provide an insurance CLUE report.
- Your offer must include proof of funds or lender prequalification letter that you are prepared to close. Proof of funds must be within the past 30 days and include your name. They are usually bank statements or brokerage statements.
- The home will continue to be shown to other prospective buyers until you have a solid executed contract.
If you have any questions about buying a foreclosure in Scottsdale or would like to put in an offer, call us at (602) 791-0536. We specialize in representing buyers of foreclosures and lender-owned homes in Scottsdale.
Carmen Brodeur JD
Realtor
Trillium Properties, LLC
9825 E Bell Road, Suite 120, Scottsdale AZ 85260
(602) 791-0536
Carmen@TopScottsdaleHomes.com
www.TopScottsdaleHomes.com