subject: How To Formulate A Good Purchase Offer For Bank Foreclosure Sales [print this page] Formulating offers for bank foreclosure sales should be done carefully and only after a thorough research of the property and the market has been conducted and detailed discussion with a real estate agent has been done. Buyers should consider a number of factors when formulating a purchase price offer for a foreclosed house.
Examining Trends
One of the factors that should be considered when deciding on the price offer is the selling trend for similar properties. The six-month period prior is the most ideal basis for evaluation. Buyers should get a trend report and analyze whether homes of the same type are selling below their list prices or above list prices in the past six months and go with the trend.
They should also consider whether the average cost of properties per square feet has increased or declined in the past half year. Buyers of foreclosed residential properties should take note that smaller dwellings usually have higher per square foot prices when compared with larger dwellings.
Preparing for a Negotiation
Buyers of bank foreclosure sales should always expect a counter offer from the seller. That is why offering the maximum amount that a buyer can afford at the first attempt is not advisable since there is always a chance that the buyer would have to increase his offer to acquire the property. To prepare for such eventuality, a buyer should consider more than one property so that he will have something to fall back on if his offer for the first house was not accepted.
It would also help if he can determine how long the property has been in the market and whether it is an expired listing or a new listing. Some agents take a property off the market and then offer it again as a new listing. Sellers of relisted properties and those that have been on offer for more than a month will be more flexible and receptive to offers.
When making offers for bank foreclosure sales, a buyer should carefully formulate his offer price and should also have other options on hand just in case he fails to win the purchase bid for the first property.
