Wilmoth Group now regularly offers a training session called Successfully Selling HUD Homes. This training is free and open to all real estate professionals. You will come away with every thing needed to market yourself as a HUD home expert.

If you have heard the HUD contract has changed procedures from showings to bids, from repair escrows to closings, you realize you need to get knowledgeable fast. Wilmoth Group is a HUD Local Listing Broker and we have the information you need.

To review when and where our next trainings are offered, please follow this link and register!

Our requested method is one pdf file emailed to offers@wilmothgroup.com. Please do not submit offers by email with 6 attachments composed of each page of the offer in a single .jpg file. Not only is this very inconvenient, but also jpg files tend to average 1mb or more and the message is very large.

If you must use a fax, then please fax the offer to 888-627-6551

Review this post to the Wilmoth Group blog February 15, 2010.

We do not provide this information at the request of our Sellers. We are not representing our Seller’s interest to take any action that will discourage offers. Our job as the listing agent is to obtain as many offers as possible for our clients. Answering this question may encourage somebody not to submit an offer. Please submit offers until the status changes in your MLS/BLC.

There are some simple things to note. Unless we have noted a property as ActiveB (Active Taking Back Up Offers) or Pending in the MLS/BLC system, you still have an opportunity to submit an offer. Just because we have an offer it does not mean the offer is good or it will be responded to any time in the near future. All offers are submitted to the seller.

Another tip is to check at www.WilmothGroup.com. We show properties as pending as soon as we have an accepted offer.

If more than one offer is received on a property, the Bank/Seller might chose to respond in several ways. They might ask all for Highest and Best. If a highest and best is requested, final offers will be due by a pre-determined time. Some banks also have a Multiple Offer Disclosure form that must be executed by the Buyers Agent, the Buyer, or both.

In a Multiple Offer situation the bank might chose to counter only one offer and reject others. For a revised offer to be considered, you must complete the requested form within the time frames stated for your buyer. If you choose to not do so - your offer will be submitted in its original form and it will be noted to Seller that you did not complete this form. You may not change or write on this form in any way.. only check the appropriate applicable boxes, and signature lines.

If the deadline for submission of Multiple Offers has passed, you will be asked to return the Multiple Offer Notification (MON) form ASAP. In this situation, we will submit the original offer as soon as we receive and as submitted. When the MON form has been returned, we will submit the revised offer. Please understand that if this is the situation, offers are actively being negotiated and we have no control over when a Buyer or a Seller will accept an offer."

When The Wilmoth Group receives a second offer on one of our listings, all negotiations on the first offer will stop per the banks instructions (unless the bank tells us to accept the first offer already presented.) Our procedure after receipt of a first offer is to:

Send to all parties with offers submitted, and all future offers submitted, a bank required Multiple Offer Disclosure form. This form to be completed by all buyer's agents. This form MUST be returned with a Purchase Agreement that reflects the buyer's highest and best offer. The Multiple Offer form is specific to each seller and it also MUST be completed completely.

If your Buyer had the first offer you will be contacted and informed we are now in a multiple offer situation and that you will need to submit a Multiple Offer Disclosure form. It is important to advise your Buyer that when a Multiple Offer Disclosure is requested they are being given ONE chance to make their "Highest and Best" offer. Therefore, if your Buyer was the first to submit you may change the purchase agreement if the Buyer so desires (recognizing that there are now going to be multiple offers and those will all be considered highest and best offers). Please advise your Buyer that this is a one time offer opportunity. There will not be requests for revised offers. The Seller might choose one offer to work with and make a counter offer to it but this is your Buyer's one chance to make their best offer.

The Seller might do one of several things: they might reject all offers, decide to accept one offer or counter one offer. When we have a final decision from the Seller we will alert you. Unless the property has moved to an Active B (back up) status, no offer has been accepted. The status will be changed immediately if an acceptance occurs.

Finally, under NO circumstances will the Wilmoth Group reveal the content of any other offer received. Please DO NOT ask as it reflects negatively on your professionalism and if such practices are allowed they hurt the credibility of our industry.

Please understand that you will get the best response if you utilize email. We work as a team and often your question or request needs to be routed to the right party. We are able to work most efficiently when all parties have access to the written word. We know many Realtors still seem to want to discuss on the phone their questions and requests. We respect that, but we also must emphasize that you will get the fastest, most accurate, response when you utilize email.

A common source of confusion on bank owned homes is what constitutes an actual contracted agreement. All bank-owned properties will give a verbal acceptance only until the bank's specific purchase contract terms (in the form of a bank addendum to the purchase contract) are executed by both the buyer and the seller. There are situations where the bank addendum is not executed and returned in a timely manner to the bank and the bank proceeds with accepting another offer. It is imperative that if you receive an acceptance for a bank owned property that you execute the bank addendum and return it within the demanded time frames. Finally, please understand that no offer is fully accepted until the Seller signs the Addendum package returned to them.

Simple! We use Centralized Showings and they can arrange your showing from 8am to 9pm seven days a week.

You can obtain access information by calling the following numbers directly.

West Florida- 888-998-9005 Central Indiana- 866-955-5566

Or you can call The Wilmoth Group at 877-945-6684 (WILMOTH) and be connected via our voice greeting.

At the discretion of the corporate seller, the buyers agent commission (BAC) may be paid on the net sales price, not the gross. New enforcement of Realtor Association rules requires us to offer a minimum BAC. You will have the option of choosing to instead receive what the bank pays under their specific terms. The BAC offered on the BLC/MLS listing sheet is nothing more than an estimate of what will be paid. The cooperative commission offered may be accepted by a selling agent, or you may choose to accept what the bank offers. In general the alternative buyer agent coop is calculated on the net purchase price and will not be paid if buyer is also the selling broker. It averages around 2-3%. We do not know the exact amount until HUD's are prepared.

All offers will receive a confirmation of receipt. If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt with one business day of submitting the offer, please send an inquiry to offers@wilmothgroup.com stating the property address, when you submitted the offer, where the offer was submitted, and the buyers name. We will respond back to you with further instructions.

When we have posted an offer as "Active Back Up Offers" (see above section on Offers) the frequent question asked is: "Noticed you are taking Backup offers. Is there still time to get one in?"

Back up offers means the bank has accepted an offer and not all documents are executed. It is our way of trying to let you know the situation has not officially pended but that there is an accepted offer. The bank will have us hold any back up offers. If the accepted deal falls out, the bank may, or may not, ask for the back- up offers first. They often tell us to place the property back on the market and let all parties resubmit new offers. Unfortunately, if it is pending it means we have an accepted offer and the bank is not requesting or considering any more offers.

It is strongly recommended that your offer be submitted with a proof of funds or a preapproval letter. Corporate sellers will likely favor offers that specifically show the proposed buyer's financial capacity to complete the purchase as proposed. The pre-approval should include the amount that the buyer is qualified for, type of loan, contact information for the lender, and a current date or no more than 30 days old. Cash offers should have a proof of funds letter or a copy of a statement showing funds available in excess of the purchase price. Current bank statements or recent letters (less than 7 days old) from a bank representative are acceptable forms.

There are a few Banks/Sellers that will not pay commission if agent and buyer are one and the same or if agent is a principal in company that is purchasing the property. Call the office prior to writing an offer if you need this to be clarified. It is understood by Listing Broker that all offers to cooperate must be non-conditional. Buyers Agents should also consider when making their offers if the property is one where the Listing Agreement does not allow payment to a Broker purchaser. In such cases, the BAC will be paid by Listing Broker per BLC rules, despite the seller having instructed Listing Agency to not pay a cooperative commission. This issue should be understood and recognized as offers are made in these situations.

All REO properties have these addendums. They will supersede the original state association documents or any other purchase document. Please make sure your buyers understand that they are basically negotiating terms and then the Addendum will become the contract for purchase. Such Addendums are not available until a transaction has been negotiated. The bank prepares them once the terms are agreed to. Your buyer will have a very short time (24-48 hours) to review. It is not a negotiable document. Yes... that seems unfair but that is the way the game is played. The addendum will include the agreed to terms, plus language that will state the property is being sold in "as-is" condition and some very specific deadlines. If the buyer can't live with anything they discover in the addendums, then they should tell you to tell us to cancel the agreement. If we do not hear from you and receive the executed Addendum, with earnest money, within the requested time line... we will be required to put the property back on the market. If your buyer then decides they wish to proceed, it is very likely the bank will make them renegotiate the transaction.

If an offer is accepted for a Fannie Mae owned property, the buyer will be required to execute a Fannie Mae addendum to the accepted purchase agreement. This agreement can not be edited and it is important that your buyers are familiar with its terms and requirements. Please refer them to this link or print the addendum out and have them review it prior to making an offer on a Fannie Mae property.

Lately, we have had a huge problem with disappearing keys, purposefully jammed lockboxes, and other tricks that allow interested parties in a property to allow themselves to come and go (as they prepare an offer?) but make it impossible for others to gain access with a lockbox. If you are trying to show one of our properties and this happens to you, you realize how frustrating this can be. Please, do the honorable thing and do not permit your clients to have the lockbox codes and figure out some other way to accomplish whatever it is they need to do without inconveniencing all the rest of us.

We will inform you with your accepted offer what utilities will be activated by the Seller and what utilities will be your responsibility in case of inspections. Activation of utilities will be approved only if safe to do so. After the inspection, any utilities that are Buyer’s responsibility to turn on, will also be Buyer’s responsibility to also turn off It is also required that experienced contractors, approved by Wilmoth Group, be present when utilities such as water and gas are activated.

If electricity was previously on, and paid by the Seller, it will be turned off as of the day of closing. Please make arrangements to have utilities transferred to the buyer.

Any inspection requested by the buyer is intended to be only for buyer's information. Please be sure that the inspector understands this property is listed and agreed to be purchased in "as-is" condition. If an inspector/appraiser is unwilling to turn on pilot lights, main water valve, etc., it is the buyer or buyer's agent responsibility to make arrangements to have them turned on and off again. The Seller will not guarantee that utilities will be functional for inspection. The Seller won’t authorize repairs for the purpose of the inspection unless agreed to in writing.

The seller, or our company, will not approve any pre-contract inspections. Additional utilities will not be turned on, de-winterizations will not occur. Radon tests will not be performed etc. This is the purpose of the inspection contingency. Assess the property the best you can in the condition it is in (everybody else will be looking at it the same way). Negotiate a successful offer and include an inspection contingency. Then you can complete an inspection and address anything found under approved conditions in an inspection response.

It is probable that you will be required to complete all inspections (buyer and lender) within a limited time frame of approximately seven days. Please be prepared to have all inspectors lined up and ready to go upon acceptance of a purchase agreement.

When an offer is accepted, Buyer will be informed as to whether Seller or Buyer will be responsible for de-winterizations. When it is Buyer’s responsibility to de-winterized for the purposes of an inspection, buyer will be required to sign an addendum stating “If buyer does not close on property, for any reason, buyer will be responsible for the cost of having property re-winterized by Seller approved vendor.” In addition, a $150 security deposit will be required to pay cost of re-winterization in case the property does not close in a timely fashion. Depending on the timing of the winterization, it is quite possible that plumbing repairs will be needed and the water may not be able to be turned on.

An unfortunate part of selling foreclosed properties is there are many alternative disposition methods available to the property owner/seller. We have had offers accepted verbally by a well meaning representative of the seller, only to have them come back to us a day later to say that another department sold the property and they were not aware of it. Also, accepted offers have been trumped by placement of properties in an auction. We do not like these situations either as we too only get paid when we are selling a property. This is just part of the business and best to understand the possibility than to be surprised when it happens.

HOA information may not be available and the sellers required addendum to the purchase agreement often will make obtaining this information a responsibility of the Buyer. Please make sure your Buyer will not have a conflict with any of the covenants of the Association as the Bank Addendum will eliminate this contingency and it will not be a grounds for cancelling the purchase contract.

If we have or have been provided with any contact information we will gladly pass along. We also always attempt to obtain HOA information but often the Association is not as cooperative with the bank listing agent as they may be with you representing a potential purchaser.

As Is means that nothing is warranted by the Bank/Seller and that Seller will not be making repairs to the property. If buyer is having an inspection, only major defects should be noted in the inspection response. This property has been priced assuming that repairs are needed.

Every transaction has a contract date. If the property does not close by the contract date through the fault of the buyer/lender, per diem will be assessed on a daily basis. Please make your buyer and the lender aware of this. Per Diem clauses are a part of all Addendums required to be executed as part of the Purchase Agreement. Such per-diem penalties will be specifically identified in the required Bank Addendum. In general assume that it will be charged if the closing is delayed beyond the agreed contract date due to fault on the buyers, agents, lender or anyone on the buyer’s side of the transaction.

Most banks will require a minimum of $1000 or sometimes 10% for cash offers. All earnest money must be in the form of a cashiers check – NO EXCEPTIONS. EM may be forfeited if a transaction does not close due to buyer non-performance.

When the seller has not given permission, we do not have the authority to discuss the existence of other offers.

Standard of Practice 1-15 REALTORS®, in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellers’ approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property. Where disclosure is authorized, REALTORS® shall also disclose, if asked, whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker. (Adopted 1/03, Amended 1/09)

Here is the way we address this…because as far as we know we may have offers, we may not. The seller may have accepted an offer and it has not gotten to us.

We post the existence of multiple offers on the MLS at the point a seller asks us to do so. That is our official point of notice when authorized by the bank/seller to disclose.

http://www.wilmothgroup.com/buywilmothreo.asp#multiple offer form

We at the Wilmoth Group are accutely aware of the current climate in the mortgage industry and that FHA loan are the most competive in rates and availibility. However all of our properties are "Bank owned", being sold "As Is" and most likely will not pass FHA inspections/appraisals. In additions to this, the Seller/Bank will not do the work for the property to pass inspections/appraisals. When represienting a Buyer who wants to purchase an REO w/FHA financing, you need to make them aware of the potential fall out due to inspection/appraisal issues and what this could potentially cost them (inspections and appraisal fees). This is your fiduciary responsibility as a Buyer's agent. A possible alternative would be FHA/203k. This would entail that you work with the lender upfront to have the FHA inspector/appraiser view the property before submitting an offer to see if the property could be financed by this method. An offer could then be written with 203k financing and extra time could be requested for repairs estimates and a projected closing date.

We only put on these sheets the public information we have available to us. We have no homeowner to turn to for answers. Remember if you are working with an owner/occupant purchaser they may be able to take advantage of the available exemptions that the taxes shown may not include. If the number does not look correct to you, you are more than welcome to do your own investigation and when provided with the discovery of an error, we will certainly happily update these records.

HOA’s are often owed money by the defaulting previous homeowners. These amounts are settled by the title company prior to a closing. The bank will be obligated for HOA fees for only the date of their foreclosure forward. It is up to the HOA’s to privately collect from the previous owner. Subsequently, we are limited in the information we have available to us as to what exactly are the annual dues. We do our best to represent this information based on the cooperation provided from the HOA and review of other properties that have sold recently in the community where a homeowner seller provided the Realtor this information. If the number does not look correct to you, you are more than welcome to do your own investigation and when provided with the discovery of an error, we will certainly happily update these records.

Please advise your Buyer to have a locksmith ready to change all locks immediately after closing. We do not provide keys. If a key is in the lockbox, it is a master key coded in such a way that there are probably 500 other homes it fits into and there are probably many investors and other people who have this key. IT IS NOT SAFE TO NOT IMMEDIATELY HAVE THE LOCKS CHANGED. LISTING COMPANY AND SELLER WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR UNAUTHORIZED ENTRIES MADE AFTER CLOSING. Please stress this point to your Buyer.

Please refer to the blog post available describing the policies set up by Fannie for both of these programs.