REO's going for top dollar ????? NY NJ

[Michael Gessner]

So im always searching zillow, auction.com and so on, is it just me, or are the banks starting to ask top dollar for foreclosures ? I know Ive had many discussions with the agent ive been working with, and shes been telling me banks are starting to come in and do minor rehabs, throwing the properties up for sale for just bellow market value. If this is the case should I start looking into other possibilities? any recommendations would be great. Thank you

[Brian Pulaski]

In my area of NY the REOs are listed much higher than they should be. I run my numbers and they are consistently $20-30k higher than anything that I can work with. The issue... people are buying them! The few I have been able to come in right around list price (a couple thousand below) and they sell to someone else. This has happened 4-5 times now, and a lot more times where I make my best offer however it is a bit less than ask. 

Either other investors have "ins" and can get work done much cheaper than I believe it costs (based on what I was paying in CT) or they are ok making very little profit. It's been rough trying to lock something in, so I have a few avenues I'm pursuing.