Banks are beginning to rely more and more on a unique method of bribing homeowners to leave a foreclosed property without causing damage to the house. For a few thousand dollars, banks attempt to persuade foreclosure victims to leave the house without having to be evicted, and without ripping out any of the fixtures or making the house unlivable. Homeowners with no other option to save their home may wish to consider this offer from the bank, which is called a cash for keys offer.

Local real estate agents or home inspectors are often the representatives that the banks hire to provide these kinds of offers to homeowners. They are not directly affiliated with the mortgage companies, and are not working for the owners, so they are inserted into the foreclosure process as a third-party which can help negotiate a deal. The homeowners will receive a small sum of money, which they can use for moving expenses or a security deposit on a new apartment or rental home, while the bank gets the property free of any undue damage or theft.

Banks are beginning to offer more of these kinds of deals in response to the "buyer's revenge" syndrome that some foreclosure victims engage in before being kicked out of a house. By the time the sheriff gets into the house and the bank has the locks changed, the former owners may have taken all the appliances, stripped the copper pipes to sell for scrap, damaged walls, dumped hazardous materials on the floors, ripped up carpets, or let pets and animals into the house to cause even more damage. Obviously, homes in this condition are nearly unsaleable, and will have to be listed on the market with the severe defects taken into account in the asking price.

Thus, banks have realized that it costs them more in lost sales revenue than it does simply to bribe the homeowners into leaving with no extra troubles. Houses in many markets will sit for months unoccupied, which will contribute to the deterioration of the building, even without extra destruction caused by soon to be evicted former homeowners. If the banks can put a few thousand dollars into the pockets of foreclosure victims in return for a house in as good of condition as possible, then all of the parties will benefit even slightly.

Destruction to a home after failing to stop foreclosure will not help the former owners or the bank. Homeowners are usually protected against the consequences of their actions, though, because banks rarely sue for the damage caused to the house. They know that foreclosure victims will not be able to pay off the judgments anyway, and they are finding that it costs less to offer a cash for keys deal to attempt to prevent any extra damage to their new REO property.

Of course, knowing that banks do not want damaged houses, homeowners are able to negotiate for a higher payout to leave the property in good condition. While most banks will offer a few hundred dollars, other pay more than a couple thousand to ensure that the home will be left undamaged. Obviously, homeowners should not be engaging in blackmail to the banks in order to get more money to leave, but a fair cash for keys deal can benefit both the banks and the owners. Pursuing the eviction process can be expensive and time-consuming; both banks and homeowners have something the other can bargain for. Banks want a clean property, and homeowners want an incentive not to take out their frustration on a property that is no longer theirs.

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