When a bank owns a property, they have complete control over the situation. They have the ability to make the rules and do not have to follow any disclosure requirements. The bank will typically have you, the buyer, sign an addendum which will give them full disclosure to the process, and leave you with no protections.

They will give you a timeline you have to follow, or more likely then not there will be repercussions. They really unfair thing about it, is that they don't have to respond to anything or anybody until they are good and ready. For an example, I myself have a bank owned property being held in escrow at this moment, on which I was approved for well over a month ago. However, the bank didn't even open my escrow until almost three weeks into the thirty day stint.

We didn't get a copy of the signed contract or bank addendum until three weeks into the deal. Of course, the bank addendum we signed at the beginning of the transaction had us agree to pay a $100.00 per day per Diem for every day we went over the 30 days agreed upon in the contract.

They didn't help us in anyway to meet our deadlines either. As you may already be aware, most short sales do not have a successful closing. Typically this happens because the listing agent that takes on the contract isn't familiar with how a short sale works, but still takes the home anyway. In the same breath, REO's can also turn out the same. In my case, the listing agent was very confident that he had all of his ducks in a row, and the bank was ready to close.

Submitted by: A. Fulton has much experience shopping Big Bear, CA foreclosures plus Big Bear, CA houses overall. Read his other articles on the internet.

I knew it would only be a matter of time before this property would again be on the market as a bank owned property. I encouraged my eager clients to be patient, and that I would be consistently searching all of the MLS listings until I came across their desired property again. Within a little over a week, my hunch was confirmed when I came across the same cabin, now listed at $130,000 and as a bank owned property. I called my clients within minutes, informing them of the fantastic news, and we wrote an offer for $115,000 cash that day.

The very next day the bank counter offered with $117,000, and my clients jumped on it. Luckily for us, the bank also fixed some busted pipes underneath the house that more then likely the original owner wouldn't have been able to do. The fact of the matter is that the bank held out for a month and a half, and didn't accomplish anything as a short sale property.

After the bank took ownership of the property, we were able to settle on a fantastic offer, and get a few repairs out of the deal as well. The second time I came across this situation it was very similar to the first. My clients in this situation, made an offer of $340,000 on a property listed as a short sale, and priced at $389,000. Again we played the waiting came for over two months while the bank had the house reappraised and had numerous BPO's completed.

After two months, the bank oddly enough rejected our offer, and let the house go in to foreclosure. Again I patiently watched and waited until I saw the house listed again, but for $390,000 this time around. My clients and I agreed that the house was quite a bit overpriced, and thought it better to wait to see if the price would come down at all. We waited two weeks, the price had not fell, and we felt it a perfect time to finally make an offer.

We offered the bank $333,000, and then patiently waited for a response. After only one day the bank declined our offer. It took about one going back and forth before we settled at $339,000. Again, bank owned, and a shorter time frame and a better price. So, if you're keeping score, that would be bank-owned 2 and short sale at a big 0.

Article submitter S. Miller has much experience shopping Big Bear, CA foreclosures plus Big Bear, CA houses in general. Read more of her posts online.

The first family I had been dealing with for a little of a year. They were from North Hollywood and had been in search of a place in my area for quite awhile. When we first began our search, we couldn't find anything that sparked their interests. They had made the decision to wait about a year or so in the hopes that the prices of homes would eventually fall.

So, I took them out a couple of months ago and found a cabin that was perfect for them. The cabin is super clean and situated on a great lot with a ton of beautiful oak trees. Even at the $149,900 price tag, it was a great deal. The one big problem with it was it being a short sale listing. I warned them of the major hassles that usually accompany buying a short sale, but they liked the house enough to risk it.

We had waited about a month, and still hadn't heard back from the bank. In my mind I already knew the selling agent hadn't done his part to get the process going to complete a short sale. I informed my clients that our only choice now was to wait for a response from the bank. About another month or so went by before the selling agent informed me that the bank pulled the listing without giving a response to our offer.

It is obvious why I have such a disdain for short sales. I am sure this won't be the end of it…

Submitted by: M. Strahg has much experience shopping a Big Bear, CA foreclosure plus Big Bear realty overall. Read more of her posts online.

Obviously, we decided to proceed with our offer on the cabin, knowing it would probably be a prolem if we did not. This is where my experience came into play. I have had this happen to me numerous times on bank owned purchases and I have learned that my buyer just needs to forget about the bank and make sure he does everything he needs to do to stay on track.

Getting out of paying for that per Diem is as simple as keeping on track and proving the delay was not of our doing. I stayed on top of the inspections making sure they were completed in a day period, and that my Realtor had the termite inspection done as well. Luckily since my client is purchasing this property with cash, we did not have any issues with the appraisal. It works a little differently if someone is buying a house with a loan from the bank, because you need to be in direct contact with the lender the whole time making sure an appraisal is completed on time.

If at all possible, you do not want anything going wrong in the last moments. Things typically will not always go completely the way you would like them to, but as long as you do everything you are required to do, they will turn out just fine. Most banks don't have the ability to know what is going on every step of the way. It always appears that they kind of just hang around waiting for something to happen.

It hasn't been uncommon for me in the last few years to observe a bank doing something completely out of the ordinary. It doesn't happen very often that a property owned by a bank has a smooth closing. As long as you hire an experienced Realtor that knows what they are doing, and you stay on top of things on your part, you should have a successful closing on a home.

Author Daniel Thuster has much experience shopping Big Bear, CA foreclosure deals plus Big Bear realty in general. Check out his other posts online.

A week or so went by, and I didn't become concerned yet. Red flags went off however, after the second week came and went. I began calling and E-mailing the listing agent up to three times a day for three days in a row trying to get a response from him. When that didn't get a rise out of anybody, I finally had to call the broker to suggest maybe they needed to get an agent on the dealings that knew what they were doing. I was then sent over to their assistant, who luckily for me, appeared to know what she was doing.

Finally after a long and drawn out two weeks, I received a notice giving me an extension due to the bank opening the escrow with the wrong company. How is it even possible to not be aware of what company you are dealing with? Thank goodness I decided to give the broker a call, otherwise the selling agent would have just coasted along and not have been able to put a stop to the madness.

I've also been fortunate enough to experience dealings that were completely opposite from this situation. I had sold a property not to long ago for an agent listed in Lake Arrowhead. It wasn't a surprise when it took awhile for the bank to finally open the escrow, but the rest of the closing process was very successful. This agent was very good at keeping me updated, as well was her assistant. I was then able to complete all of my paperwork correctly and in a timely fashion.

Since the agent I worked with was knowledgeable and on top of the situation, it allowed me to deliver outstanding customer service to my client. It is always a wise decision to ask your Realtor a couple of detailed questions about how they work so you can be sure you are getting the service you deserve. It is always beneficial to work with an agent that is full time versus someone who is only part time. Your Realtor should also be very intuitive about your local market and how it works.

If you do plan on buying a property in the Big Bear area, I would not suggest hiring an agent from L.A or Orange County. If your intentions are to purchase a bank owned property, it is very beneficial to hire an agent that is familiar in that field. It is a sad fact how differently banks can operate, and if you don't have an agent that is proficient in the bank owned property, they could cost you lots of money, and even possibly the property.

Author Info: M. Fetzer knows all about researching Big Bear, CA foreclosure deals and Big Bear realty in general. Check out his other posts online.