Putting an Offer on a Foreclosure

We bought a foreclosure last summer. We put an offer in on a Monday and they countered on Tuesday and we accepted that day. We closed within 30 days. Keep in mind, the bank won't make any improvements if you find any issues during inspection, however we did get them to reduce the price by $2000 after inspection.

My aunt and uncle purchased a foreclosure. It took 7 weeks to get a response.

Warning! It can take MONTHS! And, don't expect to get a deal.
We put an offer on one. The realtor hinted that there were other higher offers and that we should up our offer. So we did. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. We noticed one day that the home across the way was for sale and so we went and looked. It was more money, but the kitchen and bath had been completely remodeled and the yard had been landscaped; so it was totally worth the price difference. We made an offer, went through negotiations, closed escrow and moved in.
....and then we heard back on the foreclosure, that someone else's higher offer had been accepted! haha!
Good luck!

It can take a long time to get a response. A former tenant of ours put an offer on one foreclosure and 4 months later got turned down. This place was only for sale as a foreclosure for a month or so. Then they made an offer on a house that had been listed for 8 months. Their offer was accepted within the week. Same bank happened to have both homes. Don't know if it had anything to do with the bank, who had it or the amount of time on the market. They paid $5000 less than the listing price.

The house across the street was foreclosed on and it's been nearly a year since the family up and moved out over night. The bank just put the house on the market with a Realtor in January. They wanted way too much for it so no one even made an offer. The guy that has a contract on it got it for pennies on the dollar but the bank has yet to get the paperwork or whatever they're waiting on, they accepted his offer and he signed papers but it's not "his" yet. He has been waiting for 2 months now.

It really does depend. I've bought REO before and it move quickly. Tried a short sale once and waited 4 months before moving on- we never heard a response. I would guess that the time is relative to how aggressive your offer is. If you offer much less than asking, they will hold it to see if they get something better. Otherwise they may just accept it. Bottom line, it could go quickly, but taking forever is also completely normal.