With the rise in foreclosures in the Colorado Springs real estate market, many of our buyer clients are finding homes that they want to buy that are now Bank owned. These properties are also known as REO (Real Estate Owned) homes.

A bank owned or REO home in Colorado Springs means that the home went through the entire foreclosure process and are now owned by the lender who originally held the mortgage. Similar properties include:

• VA Repo Homes in Colorado Springs: These are homes that were mortgaged by a VA (Vetran's Affairs) Loan. When the home foreclosed, the VA reclaimed the home and is now trying to sell it to recoup some of their losses.
• HUD Repo Homes in Colorado Springs: These homes were reclaimed and now owned by HUD - Housing and Urban Development.

Writing offers on a VA or HUD Repo home in Colorado Springs requires more paperwork and different processes than writing an offer on a bank owned or REO home for sale. This article is aimed at writing offers on Bank Owned and REO Homes.

I was just reading an excellent post about this, over on Agent Genius: 20 Things You Should Know When Writing on a R.E.O. Property. (MUST READ) This post is written by a former Foreclosure Team Leader and Senior High Risk Property Analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase default department. Rocky has explicit knowledge about what it takes to successfully write an offer on a REO or Bank Owned home.

Some of the things that he targets in this post, include:

• Patience: If you are looking to buy a Bank Owned or REO home in Colorado Springs, be prepared to wait a week or 2 for an initial response, wait another week or so for a fully signed contract, and wait however long it may take to settle on a final closing date.
• Thoroughness: Make sure that you are working with your Colorado Springs Buyer Agent to submit a complete offer with ALL needed addendums, disclosures, etc. Otherwise the bank may ignore you and your offer completely. They are too busy to look at incomplete offers. Also, make sure that your funding is in order, and that you have a pre-approval letter (or better yet an APPROVAL letter from your lender) that you can submit with your offer.
• Responsibility: A bank will NEVER agree to fix anything. Most bank owned and REO homes in Colorado Springs are sold "as is" ... This does NOT mean that you cannot GET an inspection. It just means that you cannot request anything to be fixed. As a home buyer, you will need to take full responsibility for inspections and repairs. Or, if after an inspection, you are not comfortable with the condition of the home, talk with your real estate agent about cancelling the contract.
• Reward: If you are patient, thorough and responsible, chances are you will be the proud new homeowner of a home for LESS than market value - taking advantage of the current Colorado Springs real estate market and the fact that Banks are NOT in the business of owning homes. They would rather sell them FAST for less money.

So, if you are interested in making an offer on a bank owned or REO property in Colorado Springs, let us know! We work closely with many banks, lenders and other Colorado Springs real estate agents who represent banks. We can help you put together a rock-solid offer that will almost guarantee your acceptance of your offer by the bank.

Read Also:

• Buying a Colorado Springs Foreclosure or Bank Owned Home
• Bank Owned Homes for Sale in Colorado Springs

Contact the Wagner iTeam:
719.434.7525  or Team@WagneriTeam.com

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Some landlords are letting their rental homes fall into foreclosure.

If you rent one of the many Colorado Springs homes that are currently rented, you may want to make sure that your landlord is paying their mortgage. Across the country, renters who are paying their rent on time are being evicted from their homes because their landlords are not paying their mortgage payments, and letting their properties fall into foreclosure. These people who were renting these homes come home after work one day to find all their belongings on the front curb, changed locks and no place to call home - all because their landlord quit paying theor mortgage and never let their renters know that they would soon be homeless.

It's horrible, but happening all over the nation right now.

Read Also: Sheriff tells deputies not to help in foreclosures

If you are currently renting a house (or live in a duplex, tri-plex or 4-plex) you may want to make sure that your home is not falling into foreclosure.

So, you may be asking ...

"How do I check to see if my rental home is in foreclosure?"

The Colorado Springs Real Estate Connection - Wagner iTeam (we) have created a guide on how to find out if your rental home is in foreclosure, and what to do if it is, in 5 Easy Steps:

Step One: To see if your Colorado Springs home is in foreclosure visit the EL Paso County Public Trustee and click on "Foreclosure Search":

Step Two: From there, scroll down and enter your street name into the address bar and click "Search":

If you do not see your address on the next screen, then you are fine. No worries. However ...

DON'T FREAK OUT IF YOU DO SEE YOUR ADDRESS IN THE NEXT SCREEN.

If a property was ever a Colorado Springs foreclosure - even years ago, then it will show up on that next screen. If you DO see your address on the next screen, what you need to do is this:

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The Colorado Springs real estate market is shiftng. There are more Colorado Springs foreclosures than there has been in years, and because of that, there are more short sales.

Read More:

• What is a Short Sale?
• Colorado Springs Home Owners Beware of Foreclosure Assistance SCAMS

Well, with any shifting market, comes people who will take advantage of the kinks in the system it for their own gain. Well, this market is no different.

There is a new scam that is happening in the Colorado Springs real estate market. According to the Pikes Peak Realtor® Services Center,

"The Association has become aware of a scenario that appears to involve concealing important information from lenders. The scenario typically involves an investor/buyer negotiating a purchase contract with a seller/borrower subject to a successful short sale. The investor/buyer then negotiates a short sale with the lender. The investor/buyer simultaneously markets the property for a higher price. Once a new buyer is found, the investor conducts a simultaneous closing--pocketing the difference between the short sale price and the new purchase price. Apparently, the lender is unaware of the new contract for a higher price. In summary, simultaneous closings involving short sales and significant sales price adjustments could be a red flag."

This is mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is a federal crime and punishable by thousands of dollars in fines and years in prison. The FBI does not take mortgage fraud lightly. ... Just sayin'.

If you are a seller facing a foreclosure on your Colorado Springs home, and you suspect that this may be happening, please report it immediately. (Even if you just suspect it, you should request an investigation.)

FBI Field Office, Mortgage Fraud
Denver FBI Website
White Collar Crime Supervisor
Federal Office Building, Room 1823
1961 Stout Street, 18th Floor
Denver, CO 80294-1823
Phone: (303) 629-7171

Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent

I received the above cartoon in an email earlier today, and it got me thinking about foreclosures in Colorado Springs and the extended effect it has on our lives. I started thinking about the ripple affect of foreclosures in our community...

First, foreclosure will directly affect the homeowner who lost their Colorado Springs home to foreclosure. They lose their home. They ruin their credit. And in most cases homeowners who lose their home to foreclosure, also take a HUGE emotional hit.

Next, the bank who reclaims the home, will sell it at a loss and create extremely stiff price competition for other homeowners in the area looking to sell THEIR home.

While it sits there waiting to sell, the home sits there empty, almost abandoned, and in varied states of disrepair. In many cases the lawn becomes overgrown and the home takes on a disheveled look ... making it only sit on the market longer ... and making it only more of an eyesore to the immediate Colorado Springs neighborhood that it lives in. ... Kind of like a market-induced haunted house.

As local Colorado Springs Realtors®, we don't want a community of foreclosed homes. We want happy homeowners.

So, if you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, you have options that can help you AVOID foreclosure (and help keep your house from becoming "haunted"), and we can help. You can contact us at 719.434.7525 for more information on how we can help you.

Read More: Colorado Springs Home Owners Beware of Foreclosure Assistance SCAMS

Or, if you are looking ot BUY a Foreclosure Home in Colorado Springs, and help more homes avoid becoming "haunted" ... let us know. We put together weekly "Foreclosure Best Buy" lists, and would be happy to share them with you. ( You can send your request to team@wagneriteam.com )

Either way, let's help keep the foreclosure homes - Haunted Houses - out of Colorado Springs.

Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Clients Choice Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Certified Distressed Property Foreclosure Experts
(719) 434-7525

According to a RealtyTrac report, the Southeast Colorado Springs real estate market is seeing more foreclosures than other areas of town. In August of 2008, SE Colorado Springs (zip code 80916) saw 67 new foreclosure starts (where a lender starts the foreclosure process on a home where the homeowner has fallen behond on payments).

(Graph Source)

The least amount of foreclosure starts in this report were in Wolf Ranch and Cordera areas of the Briargate Colorado Springs real estate market, with only 2 foreclosure starts in August of 2008.

Contact the Wagner iTeam for access to our Exclusive Colorado Springs Foreclosure "Best Buy" List
719.434.7525  Team@WagneriTeam.com

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