Hilton Head Real Estate foreclosures are often misunderstood. I was fortunate enough to attend a professional development program put on by two Realtors that specialize in listing foreclosures or REOs. It was really interesting to hear how each of the different lenders or asset management companies handles an offer when it is made on one of their foreclosed properties. Both Realtors one of whom deals with Fannie Mae and the other who deals with various lenders and asset companies said that when the bank sets the price it’s usually because multiple BPO’s (Broker Price Opinions) and appraisals have taken place on the property. A lot of people think that a foreclosure means someone can come in a steal it, well these asset managers/lenders have gotten these BPO’s and appraisals for a reason, to make sure they price this to sell within 120 day period or less. One of the Realtors went on to say that within the first week or two of a listing, the lender/asset managers will not come off the price very much if any at all. However, as time goes on with the listing, they may drop it $15,000 or more until they get an offer, it’s very systematic on how they approach this. Both Realtors have seen multiple offers many times this year with most selling above the listed price. With a seller you have a lot of emotion, but certainly not with a foreclosure and not with a lender/asset manager. Below are some tips to consider if you are planning on making an offer on a foreclosed property. Some useful tips on what to expect when writing on offer on a Hilton Head Foreclosure: 1.) Provide a Pre-Qualification letter with your offer 2.) If paying cash, provide Proof of Funds with your offer 3.) A counter offer addendum either available before the offer is presented or generated by submission of the offer 4.) Always a single earnest money deposit, in most cases at lest 3% of offer price 5.) Earnest money deposit to be either a cashier fund or wired funds 6.) No closings to take place on the last five (5) days of the month 7.) No lengthy closing times 8.) No contingencies, most cases not even a finance contingency 9.) An inspection period not more than ten (10) days 10.) Buyer responsibility for ALL inspections including the Cl-100 (termite inspection)