What questions should you ask for buying bank owned properties?
Submitted by BrendaLittle on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 10:08am.
Just wondering if anyone can help me out. Just wondering if there is a list of questions I should be asking about buying a foreclosed property that is owned by a bank? Is there no disclosure statement and is a property as is??? My friend is using a realtor who clearly is not looking out for his best interest and is not representing him well? He is a friend and in a hard situation.
Any questions I can pass on to him before he closes would make him feel better.
Thanks,
B
Comments:
Hi Brenda,
Despite the scary bank contracts, buying from a bank is not much different than buying from any other owner. The key thing to remember is that this house is just a line item on a financial statement for the bank… they’ve never lived there, and they likely don’t know much about the condition of the property.
As such it is critical that your friend do extremely thorough inspections. Certainly complete home and pest inspections are in order. And if anything else appears out of place bring in a specialist. While these things can seem expensive, it is very cheap insurance in the event something is wrong.
One thing that tends to scare buyers is the "as-is" language in the bank contracts. The reality is that almost all real estate is sold "as-is" - the other contracts just aren't as clear about it. As long as the seller discloses the problems that they are, or reasonably should be, aware of then the buyer has little recourse in the event of a problem.
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