Help with buying a property from REO

[Mahesh U.]

Hello everyone, 

I have some experience with Real estate. We got about 8 rentals, all of them buy and hold. For the first time, i want to venture into the REOs with the purpose of BRRR or selling it for a profit.

In my city, i saw a good deal on a REO property. It says it was tenant occupied. It could be either a tenant (leasee) or owner. Eitherway, we couldn't see it and bidding without seeing is a scary step for me. That deal is over, but it got me to ask this question. How difficult is the process of buying an REO with a tenant?

I want to use it for rental/selling it ultimately. I will not relocate. Any advice is appreciated.

[Corina Eufinger]

I manage a group of properties that are REO at the minute. It is hard to sell REO that is tenant occupied. REO or tax auctions you don't get an opportunity to look through the property under most circumstances.

If you are interested in REO, you can consider traditional sales. It isn't uncommon for REOs to do traditional sales. I am negotiating one right now. With REO sales, they tend to not be flexible on the price because of certain regulations and audits they have to go through. But they are more willing to compromise on other areas like a repair/rehab check at closing, covering all closing costs, etc.