These questions were emailed to me today after a recent inquirer reviewed the list of bank owned multifamilies:

In the listings, there’s a list price. Is this how much the bank wants or is that the original list price prior to the bank owning the property?

The list price is the ‘ask price’ what we’re finding is that when you find a property you like and you make an offer that makes sense, you stick with it, and sometimes over time and sometimes sooner, the bank can be worn down significantly. These properties HAVE to sell.

Also, are the lenders willing to be the lenders to the future buyer or is their preference to sell out right?

Sometimes they would want to be the lender, in other cases the lender is out of business. It’s not the same as the bank “holding paper” it is a new loan origination.

Are any of these properties rented now or are they all empty?

Bank owned properties are almost always empty. As a matter of course the lender or more likely ’special servicer’ vacates the property before bringing it to market. The good news for would-be landlords (bad news for tenants) is that there are an increasing number of tenants being removed from their properties, increasing demand in the market, and increasing rents. You can search this blog for media references to this phenomenon.

Do you have  a question about bank owned properties and foreclosures? Ask it below.