Calculating a Bid Price on a Foreclosure

How many of you had this problem bidding on a foreclosure? Spend hours writing and submitting a bid, only to hear nothing back for weeks? The longest I had to wait was 6 weeks. I don’t care how low a bid is, it is not professional by any means to leave an offer sit for weeks, or not reply at all. I am surprised asset managers do not understand how the game is played. Investors like to bid low. That’s what they do. They can’t sleep at night thinking they could have saved a nickel.

 

In most cases, I receive a reply to an low offer in a couple of days. I try to convince Buyers to avoid this situation by coming as close to the list price, if not offering full price on the first offer. Over 2012 and 2013 the sequence on bidding has been the same. Find a property worth bidding on, call the listing agent to find out if others are bidding, which is usually the case. Even with a full price offer, the asset manager will ask for the highest and best price. History has shown this has been pushing up prices. There seems to be no way of around getting in first and getting the best price.

 

It seems asset managers will hold a bid until they get a second offer. Even weeks later they will use the original bid in the hope of raising one or the other bid. Its a new part of the game we have to learn to deal with. Maybe the only way around it is to overbid the list price. This has worked a number of times. It avoids the highest and best phase, maybe saving the buyer money.

 

Another thing I have seen which looks suspicious. Real Estate Agents normally receive a request for a highest and best offer from the Listing Agent. If questioned, a Listing Agent has to be able to prove multiple offers exist. But I have noticed a change in the process working on Homepath properties. Sometimes a request for a best offer comes from the asset manager. Think about it. Why do they use a different system at times? Asset managers are not licensed. I don;t think any disciplinary action could be enforced against a non-licensed player in a deal. Is this another example of our government over stepping its bounds? To think, government is a role model if they like it or not. What type of example are they trying to set?