Bulk REO Investment Profit Strategies 101
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009With more foreclosures now than ever before, America’s weak real estate market seems to set new dismal records each month. But challenge always gives rise to opportunity, and opportunistic real estate investors are rising to the challenge.
That opportunity is called Bulk REO Investing, and the opportunity is huge.
Take a just a minute to consider the basics of this highly profitable business.
Understanding of the foreclosure process is central to understanding Bulk REO investing.
Mortgage lenders faced with a non-paying home owner send a large volume of threats, warnings and documentation to the borrower who is late. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. The ‘pre-foreclosure’ time starts with filing of foreclosure paperwork and concludes at public auction.
When a defaulted property is placed up for auction, the foreclosure process is completed. If there are no buyers at the foreclosure auction, the lender regains title to the property. This property is then considered to be ‘Real Estate Owned’ by the lender, also known as an ‘REO’ property.
Lenders have no interest in owning property, and thus usually opt to list their REO properties with a local real estate broker in hopes of a retail sale. Yet with increasing frequency, REO properties are being sold for pennies or dimes on the dollar. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.
There is huge profit potential in these REO packages for qualified real estate investors. The most successful Bulk REO Investors will have a well-respected source of funding for their transactions. There are many sources of funding for these transasactions including: hard money and commercial financing, as well as non conventional sources such as hedge funds and private investors. 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.