Strombotne Law Firm

Beware of the hidden legal traps in contracts to buy bank-owned property.

A buyer of bank-owned real estate (“REO”) does not have the same legal protections that are present in a typical purchase of residential property from a private seller.  Most importantly, unlike most sellers, a bank that has acquired title to residential real estate by foreclosure is exempt from the statutory requirement to provide the buyer of the property with a Transfer Disclosure Statement (CC §1102.2).

In addition, most banks respond to a purchase offer from an interested buyer with a multi-page counter offer written by the bank which, if accepted by the buyer, essentially re-writes the contract on terms that heavily favor the bank.  Most of these REO contracts contain legal traps for the unwary buyer.  REO contracts are written in such a way that they replace the fair and balanced contract terms contained in the standard form offer, with new terms that benefit the bank.

The Strombotne Law Firm will review the REO contract and provide the buyer and their real estate agent with a legal analysis of the legal traps in the REO contract and recommendations on how to best resolve them.

Our fee for an REO Contract Review is $500.  Please call or email to set your appointment.