Banks Asking For Down Payment

[Rodney Ford]

Has anyone had to give a down payment when submitting your offer on a REO? an agent told me banks are requesting down payments.

Thanks,

[Account Closed]

I find it increasingly amazing that so many do not understand the way things worked just a year ago is ancient history.

If you are buying REO and have the ability to perform, meaning ready access to the funds, you are in the drivers' seat. The lenders will jerk you around as much as you let them.

The odds are in your favor as an investor. The lenders have potentially MILLIONS of these things on their books for sale. They want to believe they are in control but the fact is the buyer is always in control of the purchase transaction.

Sure, banks don't want to waste their time with newbies but there is a difference between being vetted and being manipulated.

The best way to buy REOs is to make offers that make sense to you as an investor. That means at a deep discount and at a price point where your profit is assured for your business model.

It does not matter what the bank "wants" as a seller, only what they "get". They are sitting on assets with declining book value. They are the ones with all of the real and perceived pressure in this market.

Ten years from now, things might be different. But, right now, today, the lenders are in the weakest bargaining position in any REO transaction, they just hope you don't realize that.