“On foreclosures, I’d like to get an idea of how much the bank has into the property. Is there any way to find out the loan balances on the foreclosures?”

***ANSWER:
I know what you’re thinking…that if the bank has say 500K into a property, if they sell it for $535,000 and break even, they’ll be happy.

Unfortunately, you’re wrong on two counts.

First of all, banks have tremendous expenses when they foreclose. All told, it can be 25-30% of the value by the time escrow closes.

Secondly, banks are not pricing their foreclosures based on the “UPB” (the insider’s term for “Unpaid Principal Balance.”) Once they own the property, they want close to market value so they can maximize revenue from the sale

So, yes, you can get the loan balance at the time of foreclosure. But it won’t do you any good…

Do you have a particular home buying or selling questsion? email me and I will be glad to answer it for you.