BUYING A REPOSESSION - any helpful tips??

[notnotnee]

Hi
I am in the process (well, I was yesterday) of buying a house that is owned by the bank. Does anyone have any experience of this, as it is proving to be very challenging. They have to keep it on the market, even if it is under offer, which means other people can come in and offer more. This is exactly what has happened yesterday. I then reluctantly matched it and I am now waiting for the bank to decide who they are going to go with. Its such a nightmare. I have sold my place but at this rate, I may not have anywhere to go. Any experience with this anyone??

Forgot to say, I really want this house !!!

They don't have to keep it on the market - its a question of whether they want to hold out for a better price. I would make it a condition of the offer, but bear in mind they might not agree.

IME (related field of work) the bank will have absolutely no qualms about putting it back on the market if you are slow / awkward / seek to re-negotiate (if they think you are trying to wiggle!). They have to act properly (effectively for the old borrower's benefit) to get the best achievable price. If they think they can get more from another borrower, they will drop you.

Having said all that, their main concern is recouping their loss so providing you are co-operative, move quickly etc, it should in theory be fine.

just make sure you don't offer more than you should; repos can be in a bit of a state. At least you know there is no chain.

the bank do indeed have to get the maximum possible for it, reducing the bill for whoever couldn't pay their mortgage.

A key thing to look out for with repossessions is the damage that the vendors may have done to the house prior to leaving, not all will have of course but I saw one at auction recently where they had taken a sledge hammer to the place!

There may also be damp issues if it has been left empty over the winter, I looked at one that had black mould growing in behind the kitchen cupboards.

Mandy214 I think the bank have possibly done this as I originally offered 1 price which was accepted but then reduced it ant it is since this change that they have now said someone else is interested. I suppose it is just a case of wait and see.??

I have viewed the property twice now and it looks to be in reasonable condition so hopefully, there are no hidden surprises. I really don't want to get into a bidding war though with the other people who are interested. Yikes !!

Bear in mind also that the Bank will not have knowledge of the house and when your solicitor makes enquiries about the property you may not get a detailed answer or any paperwork/guarantees.

Its so hard to start packing as I am not sure if it is going to be mine or not. I suppose I just go ahead with my sale and hope for the best.

Oh, there will be a few hidden suprises if its a repo.

I would not move straight into it.
Have a couple of weeks going through everything - heating, electrics, any fittings.

Get a quote for a skip so you can clear anything that's still in there. We viewed a repossession - children's beds, toys and a sofa were still in there. It was so sad.

My understanding was that the bank do have to keep it on the market because they need the best price to cover their costs. Fingers crossed it goes through for you.

I would say be patient. The bank may be super slow answering your solicitor's questions. In our case we bought a repossession from the receiver of a building society which had gone into liquidation after repossessing the house. Slow doesn't begin to cover it. I think it was about 7 or 8 months between acceptance of (revised) offer and completion.

You absolutely can ask them to remove it from the market, but they may only do this if you improve your offer, as they have an offer from you in hand which doesn't include this condition. I don't know whether you can rely on completing quickly to avoid getting gazumped again. Obviously that approach wouldn't have worked for us, but in our case the estate agent was absolutely firm about not marketing properties which were under offer, as I found with a couple of others we tried to offer on at the time...

Don't worry about the condition of the house. There's nothing about it being a repo which makes it any more likely to have problems which won't be picked up in the reports you will be having done. Possibly a slightly higher chance of it having been owned by a lazy shoddy buy to let tosser, but that's just my experience...

Thanks everyone. That is really helpful x

Banks themselves dont usually sell their reposessions themselves, they normally pass them onto a receiver. Make sure you know exactly who youre dealing with and who is making the decisions re keeping it on the market.

The bank will usually be happy to sell as soon as a reasonable market value is reached, make sure you've proved you have the mortgage, have a sale, are reliable, are ready to go, give them a date you can complete. IME the actual sale,once decision is made, will be very quick.

Having been experienced at buying at auctions, I would second the advice re: slow completion. I would also have you solicitor check everything carefully even if you don't progress the sale as receivers/banks often don't guarantee vacant possession or unencumbered title. Fine if you can afford to lose the money or don't need a mortgage, but not so great if you can't/do.