So putting a small amount out does drive up the price. The problem is, unless it is a cash sale and the buyer is will ing to forego the appraisal, the homes are not appraising at the inflated over bids.
In some neighborhoods, the banks are now only take offers that people are going to move into, and not rent out.
IN other situations, the bank lets the deal fall through, because they won't lower to the appraisal price, which was more than likely the listed price.
I think it is costing the bank something like .005% every month they don't sell these homes.
We get calls all day long from people seeing the foreclosures in neighborhoods with the yellow signs on them that the banks haven't put on the market. There are a bunch!
In our area, it would serve the banks better just to get them out there and let people buy them now, before the homeless move in or the vandals destroy them!
I showed a house a few weeks ago, a short sale,that was very nice,about 2300sq ft with a pool nice gated neighborhood. It was priced at $225k.
I went back the other day and "someone" had taken all the copper pipe , along with the toilets sinks built in oven, and there were holes in all the walls. It was very sad!
I guess the owners saw they weren't going to be able to short it and just took anything of value!
What a mess... and the poor neighbors who try to actually keep their homes and once lived in a nicely kept neighborhood... we’ve been fairly lucky over here that the snowbirds from Canada keep buying up the properties and they usually pay to keep them up when they are gone in the summer.