There are plenty of opportunities to buy foreclosed properties thanks to the declining housing market and troubled economy. If you have some cash and are interested in buying a Citimortgage inmate property, then there are a few facts to keep in mind before making any offer. If you find an REO you like, you should check the history of the property. Asking your buyer’s agent to obtain the purchase price from the bank on the trustee’s or bailiff’s deed. It must be written somewhere in the document. You can get the deed from the title company or tax records. Compare that price with the one the bank is asking you for. If you look at the original loan balance and the requested foreclosure sale price, a good price offer will fall between those inmate prices. That will be true if the house has a low price.
Doing research on the area in which the property is located is another important point to consider. Look at the last three months of comparable sales for the neighborhood to determine the value of the Citimortgage inmate. Compare only homes that are similar to the property you are interested in. For example, are the square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, condition, and amenities comparable between neighboring properties? Also find out if there are any pending sales in the area. This will be a good way to judge the sale value of the property.
Another good tip when planning to buy a real Citimortgage is to look at the listing agent’s REO sales history over the last few months. Doing this will prepare you for how much you will have to offer over the list price to have a chance to win the offer on the property. If he or she traditionally accepts 4% off the list price, then you may want to offer a little more than that. Also, if you are the only one interested in the property, chances are you can offer less than the list price. Remember, they want to get you off their books, so they won’t be as picky if someone is biting.
Finally, if you have a letter stating that you are pre-approved for a specific amount of money for the property from the lender that owns the property, it makes your offer credible and the inmate Citimortgage agent will know that you will be able to back their offer to purchase the property.
