What Kind of Offer on a Bank Repo ?

[Me-and-Boo]

While I was looking at a boat this weekend I started to wonder about what kind of offer is typical on a bank repo. I already know they knocked about 35% off the last selling price before it was repo'd. How much lower would be a first offer and then final offer? The boat is in very good condition and built in 2005.

[READY2GO]

Depends how bad you want the boat. Start with ridiculously low and work your way up. Two years ago a neighbor bought a house close to us. It had sold for $86K 3 years earlier. The bank tryed to auction it. They tried to start the bidding at $45K, no one bid. Afterwards he made them an offer of $22K, they said no, but kept calling him evey week trying get get him to come up on his offer. He refused. Finally after about 5 weeks they called and said they would accept his offer.

[roverhi]

The bank will try and get the most money for the boat possible. If your offer is lower than what the mortgage is, they probably won't accept your offer but make a counter offer. If it stays on the market for awhile and no one else makes an offer, they may change their minds and go down to your original offering price, then again they may not. The crucial thing is that no one else makes a better offer in the interim that aces you out.

We've been looking at houses in the Phoenix area where every house listed seems to be a foreclosure or short sale. The banks often take months to respond to low offers on the forclosed properties. Very often, a higher offer comes in while they are deliberating and they'll take the higher offer. Trying to buy these properties cheap can mean months of frustrating waiting only to lose out in the end. There are some people who are making a nice living low balling these bank owned or in default properties but they are willing to wait and accept the disappointment if the deal falls through. Guess they figure, in the market conditions there, there will always be another opportunity.

[lorenzo b]

Got my boat from a bank, they were asking $37k but let it be known they would take $31k. I offered $32k and got it. The outstanding loan was $80k.
Real estate is different in that it has a higher residual value and can be rented by someone in the game. The resale value of a boat goes only in one direction, and banks are loath to hang on to them.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

Got my boat from a bank, they were asking $37k but let it be known they would take $31k. I offered $32k and got it. The outstanding loan was $80k.
Real estate is different in that it has a higher residual value and can be rented by someone in the game. The resale value of a boat goes only in one direction, and banks are loath to hang on to them.

If you knew they would accept $31k, why on earth did you offer $32k???

That doesn't make any sense.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

If you knew they would accept $31k, why on earth did you offer $32k???

That doesn't make any sense.

He felt sorry for the bank..he didnt want to hurt their feelings..I have sympathy for bankers and lawers too..dont you?....not....DVC

[lorenzo b]

A successful business transaction leaves everyone happy.

[svBeBe]

Most of you are being pretty foolish about this.

The boat will sell for what the market allows.

FYI, banks in the US are required to write the loan off when it is 90 days past due. That means that normally a repo is on their books for zero and anything they get is positive to their balance sheet. That doesn't mean that you will get a deal. The price is going to be set by what the market believes the boat is worth, regardless if it is a repo.

Also, remember a repo was caused because the owner did not have enough money to pay the note. How many other money-saving things did the owner do and will those show up in a survey or inspection? For instance, because the owner was short of cash, did he burn a mixture of diesel and kerosene? Did the owner change the oil at the proper time? Those are a few things that probably will not show up om am inspection or survey, but will impact the life of the equipment.

Too many boats and too few buyers.

Bill

[lorenzo b]

Quote

"Most of you are being pretty foolish about this.

The boat will sell for what the market allows."

Not my experience. We were running around the bayou looking at lots of shrimp boats and all were in the 100k range and I don't believe the owners would have taken 32k. The fact that it was held by a bank that did not want it and had no emotional attachment to it made the deal happen.
All these boats had been rode hard and needed tons of work.

[donradcliffe]

Don't be shy about a low-ball offer. Last year when I was in Fort Liquordale, I visited National Liquidators, who are the biggest seller of foreclosed boats. Their website has a minimum bid for each boat, but when I got there the brokers told me the banks would accept a lot less--like 30-40% off the minimum.