I'm trying to buy my first house. I had a real estate agent write a purchase and sale agreement and made an offer on a foreclosure last Friday. The deadline he listed was 3pm this past Monday, but so far we still haven't heard anything. I talked with the agent Tues. and he said the mortgage co. that owns the property had not responded to the offer. I haven't been able to get in touch with my agent today to ask questions. Does this mean they rejected our offer? Do we need to write a new contract? Finally, can I call the other broker directly to see if they have heard from the mortgage co. about the offer? We're anxious to either amend the offer or keep looking but I'm not sure how to proceed. Sorry I'm so green! Any help will be appreciated.

foreclosures take awhile to hear something back sometimes. a company i used to work for, had a FHA foreclosure and it took a month to ratify. i wouldn't go to the other broker without calling your agents' broker first and see if he can find something out.

Thanks. The property is filthy on the inside and sells as is. It will have to have all new carpet and paint and repairs to the exterior doors and roof, as well as some TLC to the yard, but the lot is almost an acre and the neighborhood is good. Asking price was 74k and the property listed last for 89k, and a couple of comparable properties on the same street are listed the same. We offered 70k, seller pays closing. Can't decide if that was a good offer or not, hence the nerves.

good luck, let us know how it turns out.

When you're dealing with foreclosures, you are at the mercy of the asset managers schedule.

To give you an idea of the administration involved, imagine a long table against the wall of the asset managers office with files stacked two feet high row after row down the length of the table with more stacks being added daily. Now imagine the asset manager getting a cup of coffee and picking up a two foot pile of files to move to her desk. The asset manager then takes a sip of coffee and takes the top file, opens it and begins her assessment of that particular file.

Your file might be in the middle of a stack somewhere half way down the table, which may be reviewed in two, four, or even six weeks from now. So be a little patient; I'm sure they'll get to yours eventually.

Asset managers hate their jobs. The only thing that they hate more than their jobs are real estate agents and buyers. The last foreclosure I bought took 4 months.

I once heard a rumor of a HOA suing an asset management company because the house was in such disrepair and the asset management co would never sign off on the deal.

The deal is probably a good one. Just hold on and have patience.

I wouldn't worry too much and I wouldn't call the listing agent. I've listed bank owned property and sometimes it just takes a while for them to respond to offers. Good luck.

One thing you should do is have your agent verify that the offer you submitted was in compliance with the offer requirements.... most foreclosures and REO's have asset manager specific addenda that must be submitted with the offer or they are often considered non compliant and don't even get submitted.

Generally in the case of foreclosures, the "effective until" date is ignored.. but I have one asset manager that will set aside any expired offers and not review them if other unexpired offers are on the table. You do need to have your agent make the contacts... you doing it personally could cause you to be viewed negatively by the up chain.

The property is listed through a different agent than the one who represents me. The other agent is handling the listing for the mortgage company that owns it. Should my agent just check with her office to see if we are in compliance? Would they be required to notify us if the offer wasn't in compliance when we submitted it, or if there were such addenda to consider? Would an example of such addenda be, for instance, "buyer must pay closing costs" or something like that? They already specified that the property sells as is, no improvements or repairs and no disclosures. My agent is fairly new to the game, though he has a good, seasoned broker who mentors him, but this is a learning experience for us both, hence the questions.

I don't think you should worry too much. Your agent and broker most likley filled out the proper forms. Even if something was missing, a good asset manager intent on approving an offer will typically ask for any missing forms, or even a completely new contract if needed.

More than half the offers I receive on REO listing are non-compliant.... and almost 100% with newer agents.... they think the "standard" forms are all that is needed.

If your offer is non-compliant and other offers are compliant and acceptable... even if your offer is the exact same in price... the terms and conditions are not the same since your offer may not have contained the specific Asset Management Addenda.

Your agent needs to contact the listing agent for clarification... the listing agent is NOT obligated to inform the agent of your non conforming offer. I often get more than 50 offers for each REO usually in the first week. The Asset Management company will specify what and how they want offers submitted. Most only want a Net Sheet on each conforming offer. They may ask for a Best and Final from the top 3... or just award the contract to the best conforming offer.

Most Asset Management companies are not in the position of having to try to find offers and will not bend over backward to get an offer under-contract when offers that are acceptable and conforming are presented.

The listing agent will answer questions on the status to your agent but depending on what area your in... it may be too late to make a change in the offer which is best made with a totally new offer... not an adjustment to an existing offer. REO's and other foreclosure properties are different from traditional real estate transactions. Most agents think they can handle them but can cause you to loose the opportunity due to the lack of understanding of the process.

If REO and foreclosures properties are you primary interest... you need to make sure the agent you select has experience in performing that type real estate... or you may unfortunately be the "training dummy".