Most of the time REOs are great deals. They are priced at distress sales prices determined by (usually) three Realtors who did BPOs (Broker Price Opinions).
Granted the Realtors who did the BPO are local and know what they are doing they use comparable sales and determine a price at which the property should sell in less than 30 days. Many times REOs sell for more than the asking price because there are several offers.
Please take a look at this list of REOs that sold in the past six months; you can see the listing and the actual sold price: Click here
As you can see the actual sales prices are usually very close to the listing price or even higher.
Keep in mind that a great deal is not determined by how much you negotiated off the actual asking price but by how much you paid for the property.
If you are interested in Real Estate in the Keys please contact me at Veepka@aol.com or 305-393-0923