Questions on how to contact the bank for a foreclosure

[Shenell Caldeira]

Aloha!

Does anyone know how we contact a bank for a foreclosure property?   Iʻm a new investor and donʻt know where to start.  

Mahalo!

[Marty Boardman]

Quote from @Shenell Caldeira:

@John Slater sorry a bank owned property.  Itʻs been sitting in foreclosure for a few years and I wanted to ask some questions about it and maybe put in an offer.  

If the bank owns the house it's not in foreclosure anymore. It's an REO (real-estate owned). And if the lender foreclosed on the property a few years ago, but still hasn't tried to sell it, then it could be because there's an issue with title, or perhaps there's a legal battle taking place with the previous owner. The bottom line is you can't make a seller sell, even when it's a bank. Most banks want to dispose of non-performing assets quickly, and will do so by selling at a public online auction like Auction.com, or list the property with a local Realtor on the MLS.

Even if you can work your way up to the bank's decision-maker on this property, it's highly unlikely they will sell directly to you. They will want to expose the property to the entire market to get a highest and best price.

Rather than doing this I would focus your efforts on finding pre-foreclosure deals. This is a much more effective approach to finding below-market deals, especially as a new investor.

Good luck Shenell!