Buying REO

There’s an old joke about hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop. I hate to tell you that buying an REO property is anything like that joke, but it’s best to have realistic expectations when you start the process. The posts on this site about buying REO property in Sonoma County (or anywhere else) are written to prepare you for a process that can be tedious, long, and stressful. If your buying process ends up as a simple, easy transaction, all the warnings will have served to make it a pleasant surprise. If it’s the purchase from hell, at least we told you it could be like that.

Every home purchase has a deposit, a contract, an escrow (title company), and a close. Most have loans. What separates a regular transaction from an REO is the asset manager for the bank and the communications process. The asset manager can’t function like a normal seller of a single family home. The traditional seller is eager to complete the transaction and move on to their next home, next job, nursing home, or whatever their next stage of life brings them. They are normally prompt at completing paperwork and easy to get on the phone either directly or through the listing agent. The asset manager is a different breed of cat. They’re hard working bank employees who are responsible for handling huge portfolios of homes the banks have to dispose of. They might be dealing with hundreds of homes simultaneously and are working with many listing agents. The transaction that is your one and only focus is important to them in the abstract, but making them focus on your purchase can be nearly impossible. It’s not a slam on asset managers. Their jobs are just overwhelmingly detailed and complicated.

Understanding that asset managers aren’t the enemy, but might accidentally appear that way is one of the tricks to making your buying process less painful. No, they don’t have it in for you when they are late with paperwork or weeks slow in returning phone calls. They’re just buried. Take a deep breath. Take a walk. Remember you were warned this process could be prolonged.