Are These REO Properties?
I see on the tax maps several parcels which are large blocks of land on undeveloped lakes, or lakes with a few houses on another side that seem to be bank owned. Most, however, say "trust" afterward. (I.e. Suntrust Bank trust)
There is certainly no commercial development in these areas, and unless they're thinking 35 years down the line, I don't think they're planning on putting any banks up near there, so what are these? Are they REO's? Were they likely forclosures?
There are no buildings on them. Some are accessible by existing roads. Is there something else I need to look at to figure out why the bank is holding them? Are these properties they're likely to want to get rid of at a discount? Any insights greatly appreciated.
Take a look at the title history. I can across several 100-1000 arce parcels in Merced, CA owned by BofA.
Turns out several yrs ago when an air base closed, there were toms of forcloses.
Sunbank Trust is one of the custodians for a ira on mine.
History shows Warranty multiple transfer over 10 years ago, and Trust deed multiple transfer with $100 consideration a few years ago. Does this help?
Is there a reason they would want to hold on to these, or would they probably prefer to get them off their books and likely be very reasonable about it?
I checked the zoning too... land use=waterfront vacant... zoning says A-1, but it does on the next parcel over as well which is clearly OO.
look at who the grantor and grantee are if you see something like the following:
Smith to a jones
a jones to b jones
a & b Jones HELOC BofA
A& B jone to BofA Trustee deed
It doesn hurt to call and ask.
It could be a "land trust" w/ Suntrust Bank trust as trustee.
good luck.
Lets assume you figure out the owner and why they own...
If there are multiple properties that the lender is holding then the upside will be limited until the backlog is cleared from the books.
Side note: It is my understanding that banks can not hold REO's longer then X months. The concept is their banking charter will not allow them to be investors in property (other then for running the bank offices). Hence they are motivated to clear the books of old property taken back. If the property is held by a trust the bank might not be the beneficial owner.
John
[addsig]
Student,
These are almost certainly land trusts. You will usually find that the banks name is followed by TUT and a number. TUT stands for trustee under trust.
They are probably not REO's
They could be land the bank is holding in its portfolio but the land trust is the most likely explaination.
You can write a letter to the "owner" expressing your interest. Send it to the bank with a request that it be forwarded to the beneficial interest of the trust.
I'm not sure how to search who it transferred from.
It lists owner as Suntrust Bank Tr.
In the address line, it says c/o Jane Doe
then lists a p.o. box.
If it is "in trust" what does that mean exactly? Is the bank simply the trustee?
Yep, Bank is trustee. Jane Doe may be benificial owner or she may be the bank officer in charge of making sure the property taxes get paid. You can look around here for lots of postings on Land Trusts and why people use them to help you understand why the owners did this.
Bank officer in charge... that makes sense. I've got the basics on land trusts down. I was confused if the Jane Doe listed was the benneficial interest because that would seem to disable a large portion of the reason for doing a trust... shielding prying eyes from who the owner is to limit exposure.
Student,
CommercialKing is probably right. Suntrust Bank has a very large Trust Department and manages numerous large acerage tracts all over the southeast.
Can any of these properties be bought? The short answer is yes. However, dealing with the Trust Department at a large bank is usually very difficult. These are probably not distressed properties and if they can be bought the Trust will want to maximize the sale. The Trust has fiduciary responsibility and CYA will be the Trust Officer's biggest consern. Most likely if they decide to sale they will ask for sealed bids.
You never know how the trust is set up. Can the Bank sale the proiperty and if so, how? If you see a property that you want, make an offer. The best way to a get Trust Officer's attention is show up with a tight Sales Contract and a large earnest money check.