What is reasonable to offer on a foreclosure?

One of the biggest questions we get when our clients are thinking about buying a foreclosure is how much should they offer on the property.

The first question is what type of foreclosure is it?
Identify if it's a bank foreclosure or a HUD property. A HUD property is one which had an FHA loan on it and was then foreclosed. Becasue the government insures this loan, they get the property if the loan defaults.


HUD Property
The best thing about HUD properties is that as long as the property didn't just go on the market, you can generally offer a very low number. HUD will then come back and tell you what they will accept on the property as their lowest offer. This makes the negotiation on these properties very easy.

Other Foreclosures
On other foreclosures there are a few things that you should look into before making an offer. First of all, you can view tax records and see what kind of loss the bank is taking of the property. If the loss is lower than the value of the property they might be willing to make a better deal than if the property was already upside-down. A good general rule is that the bank is willing to take about 18% below current market value of the property, the as-is value of the property.

Some banks will list the property at a high price and then slowly bring it down step by step. While banks want to get rid of the property quickly and list it at a good price to begin with...

The market value of the property is not necessarily what the property is listed for at the current time.

There is a few caveats however about the price: If the home has just gone on the market and it seems like a great deal, other people probably know it's a good deal too. You might need to bid over asking price to get the property.

Alternatively if it has been on the market for a long time, you can definitely attempt a low offer and see what happens. However, keep in mind that if it's been on the market a while, it's probably either overpriced or there is something wrong with the property. (Always make sure to have a thorough inspection of any property you purchase especially foreclosures in which the Seller offers no guarantees whatsoever.)

Take a look at some of our other tips on buying a foreclosure.