This is the latest in a multi-part post dedicated to recording my experiences working with a buyer to purchase a REO or bank owned home Santa Clara.  After submitting 4 offers where we were out bid each time we finnally got  a contract accepted.  The property is 716 Kiely Blvd., in Santa Clara. It is in the Mariposa Gardens neighborhood of Santa Clara.  It also sits on Kiely Blvd. which is a fairly busy street.

The Santa Clara 3 bedroom 2 bath listing has been active for over two months and fell out of contract one time previously.  It was currently listed for $440,000 which had been dropped down from $475,000.  The home needed quite a bit of work and would not qualify for a FHA buyer.  As an investor it really benefits you to look for the homes that typical buyers of single family homes may not qualify for or could not get financing for. 

I called the agent to see if there were any current offers on the property and there were none.  We came in at 10% under asking expecting some negotiation.  The listing agent wanted to see the contract, pre-approval by a direct lender, and be pre-qualified under their lender, also proof of funds was required.  After submitting all these documents we waited for 3 days for a response from the owner or the asset manager and they accepted our offer.

I was surprised that we got an outright acceptance, and was expecting a long and hard negotiation.  After the acceptance the listing agent forwarded us the owners addendum stipulating the new terms of the deal which we had to accept.  We are now waiting to get the fully signed contract back from the agent and have property and termite inspections scheduled. 

From this experience we can easily see that the best deals to be made in acquiring these distressed properties are to find the ones that have been sitting a while on the market and just make an offer.  You never know if they will accept it.  I will keep you updated on the further developments as they develop.