Bank owned but not listed for sale

I live in a small town in north Texas. I noticed a house was vacant and had the winterized labels on the doors. There is also a key lock box on the front door which I would assume is for workers since it is not currently on the MLS. I was also looking on Trulia.com and it is listed on there by realtytrac however I know their information is widely regarded as inaccurate. I am interested in this home as a first home to live in. I know this forum is primarily for investors but there seems to be a vast amount of knowledge on the subject. I looked at the property tax records and the deed was transferred on Jan. 4th. I was just curious if there is any average time line from the bank taking possession to the time it is listed for sale. Thank you for your time.

Bill Gulley

Real Estate Investor · Springfield, Missouri

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Feb 10 '11, 05:36 AM

They might be swamped, it should show up on the MLS within thirty days from taking possession, I don't believe there is a time limit, but to proceed in a timely manner at least for the lender.

MLS has recently given agents 48 hours from the timeof listing agreement, but that is probably a local requirement. Some agents drag their feet while they call their list of buyers.....

Jeffrey K.

Real Estate Investor · Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Feb 10 '11, 05:37 AM

Depends on the bank. If you look up the records and a local bank owns it it might be as easy as calling them. If a large bank or lender owns it you are going to have to wait for it to hit the MLS.

Some banks are sitting on property if there is a lot for sale or for accounting reasons.

Calvin Neely

· Georgia

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Feb 10 '11, 05:40 AM

Kendrick, It depends on the bank or asset manager but I would expect if the winterization is already done it will just be a few weeks until you see the listing. Do you know which agents in your town typical list the foreclosures? In my small town, there are only a handful that list most of the fannie mae properties, HUD homes, etc. You could give one of them a call and see if they know who will have the listing.

Best of luck!

Kendrick Fisher

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Feb 10 '11, 06:02 AM

The property tax records indicate that Citimortgage Inc. owns the property so calling them seems next to impossible. I don't think any local agents get REO listings. There have been two foreclosures on the market here and both were listed by different agents 30 min away. Thanks for your time.

Steve Babiak

Real Estate Investor · Audubon, Pennsylvania

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Feb 10 '11, 06:13 AM

Just because it is now "owned" by Citimortgage does not mean that you can't find out about it.

I would see if it's under either Fannie Mae http://www.homesteps.com/ or Freddie Mac http://www.homesteps.com/ or FHA (I think they are under http://www.hud.gov/ ).

I would also check for Citimortgage specifically at https://www.citimortgage.com/Mortgage/Oreo/SearchListing.do

If you wait until it's "ready to list", you might find that the listing agent already has a few buyers ready and willing to buy before you can pull the trigger.

Kendrick Fisher

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50 influence

Feb 10 '11, 06:33 AM

This property is not listed on any of those websites. I have no idea how to find out which agent may be listing the property. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens with it. Thank You everyone for your time.