Trying to Contact Bank for Short Sale or Homeowner?

Hi, I saw a property that is vacant and contacted the town tax collector. They told me who the owner is but they only gave me his name, no address or contact, they stated they don't keep that on record, hard to comprehend because how would they know where to send tax bill, lol. I have enough experience to do research online and got some info. My problem is that I saw a company cleaning up the property inside one day and spoke to the workers. They told me it is now owned by the bank and they are just a cleaning and property management company subcontracted out from a big service company that maintains properties for different banks all over the USA. They could not tell me who owns the mortgage or what bank they work for, they just work for a third party who gets the contracts. Greatly appreciated if anyone can tell me how to further skip trace or find out who owns the paper or mortgage on this property. I wanted to contact the bank and present them with a letter or proposal to unload this debt from the banks holdings as there are 2 years of back taxes due and it did not go into foreclosure or short sale yet. Any other ideas would be great and if I should contact bank or homeowner and explain to him that I could get this headache or his hands or contact bank if I can find out which bank. Was wondering if anyone has any good techniques to speed things along. Thanks.

Neil, don't know where you are, but it shouldn't be hard to find current owner mailing address for property taxes( but may be no good).
More importantly, if no foreclosure and sale yet; bank does NOT own, and can not sell. You would need to find owner, list property in MLS for sale to the public, then submit a short sale contract for bank approval.
If it does go to foreclosure sale, you either need to bid at auction( after you do proper title search, taxes, code violations, etc) all cash OR you must wait for the property to br put on MLS by bank's real estate agent, and bid against the open market.
You can not buy directly from Bank or Owner without it being on open market-assuming it would be a short sale. If not a short sale, do your research, make your deal with owner.
You're better off to concentrate on something that is actually available for sale.

Replies

Wayne Brooks August 8, 2012 at 8:09am

Neil, don't know where you are, but it shouldn't be hard to find current owner mailing address for property taxes( but may be no good).
More importantly, if no foreclosure and sale yet; bank does NOT own, and can not sell. You would need to find owner, list property in MLS for sale to the public, then submit a short sale contract for bank approval.
If it does go to foreclosure sale, you either need to bid at auction( after you do proper title search, taxes, code violations, etc) all cash OR you must wait for the property to br put on MLS by bank's real estate agent, and bid against the open market.
You can not buy directly from Bank or Owner without it being on open market-assuming it would be a short sale. If not a short sale, do your research, make your deal with owner.
You're better off to concentrate on something that is actually available for sale.
- Neil S. > Wayne Brooks August 8, 2012 at 8:36am
  
  Thanks Wayne, Great info short and to the point. You state I can't buy directly from the bank or owner without being on open market for short sale. Can I send proposal to bank if I can find out which bank it is, with my offer as all cash as a big enticement and presentation letter stating that I would NOT hold them liable for any mold, structural, basement water problems etc. as homeowners are responsible for any underlying faults or problems in my state. Not sure if banks are liable as well. I really like the location and type of home for me to renovate. Not sure if I am wasting my time from listening to what you just stated it seems like it is very difficult to buy from bank if it is not up for short sale yet? Thank again.
  - Wayne Brooks > Neil S. August 8, 2012 at 8:50am
    
    Without the Owner's cooperation/listing in MLS, a short sale can not be done.
    
    If the bank has taken the property back at foreclosure, they still will not sell directly to you. It must be listed in MLS/open market. If the bank has taken it back, your best bet is to find a real estate agent who can set up an ongoing "search" in MLS which will notify the agent and/or you when that property comes up for sale. Be ready, have proof of funds, do your inspection, code violation/open permits, etc. search right away. Submit a cash offer, preferably without an inspection clause. REO's attract a lot of Wholesalers trying to flip/assign the property during their "inspection" period. "Underlying faults"/ hidden defects must be disclosed, but ONLY IF the owner was aware of them AND they are not apparent, in Florida anyway. Foreclosure/trustee sale procedures vary from state to state. What state is it in? I'm only familiar with Florida
    - Jeff Payne > Wayne Brooks August 8, 2012 at 9:12am
      
      Neil I am in Florida too. Finding the seller and who owns the mortgage is easy, the county clerks office has all of that information. You can buy the home at the courthouse steps (actually online now for most counties) like Wayne mentioned or you can buy it when it hits the market. You could send a proposal to the bank but 99.9% of the time you will never get it to the person that makes the decisions. You may be able to do that with small banks or credit unions but you will never get to anyone at the large institutions. Keep in mind that most of these foreclosures were just serviced by a bank and they had investors who make the decisions. I list for BofA and regularly the properties are actually owned by Wells or US Bank just to name a few.
      
      If it is a short sale you will have to get the owner to cooperate and make sure that they actually qualify for a short sale and will work with you.

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