With more foreclosures now than ever before, America’s weak real estate market seems to set new dismal records each month. But smart real estate investors are turning these ‘lemons’ into ‘lemonade’ in an incredibly profitable new way.
The real estate investing strategy du jour is called ‘Bulk REO Investing‘ and is a real monster.
Foreclosures are at the heart of the Bulk REO business, so let’s consider the foreclosure process.
Understanding the notion of Bulk REO’s requires understanding of the foreclosure process.
As a borrower becomes increasingly behind in his mortgage, the lender regularly calls and writes the borrower with default warnings and threats. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. ‘Pre foreclosure’ is the name given to the time between implementation of the foreclosure proceedings and the public auction.
To complete the foreclosure process, the property is auction to the public. If the property is not purchased at auction, ownership reverts to the original lender. Such a property is then classified as an ‘REO’ (Real Estate Owned) by the lender.
Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. Lenders are willing to do so in exchange for the buyer’s agreement to purchase a ‘package’ of REO’s rather than a single property.
There is huge profit potential in these REO packages for qualified real estate investors. REO packages are easiest to buy and sell with a well regarded source of financing in place. Some sources of funding for these transactions are: personal funds, hard money lenders, commercial lenders and non-conventional sources such as private investors and hedge funds. Additionally, one man is becoming very well known in the field of bulk REO investing, and his name is Sal Buscemi of Dandrew Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.