The recession in the U.S. economy has resulted in more foreclosures than experienced by any other generation of Americans. But smart real estate investors are turning these ‘lemons’ into ‘lemonade’ in an incredibly profitable new way.
That opportunity is called Bulk REO Investing, and the opportunity is huge.
Consider with me, if you will, the fundamentals of the Bulk REO business.
You can’t understand Bulk REO Investments without understanding the process of foreclosure.
As a borrower becomes increasingly behind in his mortgage, the lender regularly calls and writes the borrower with default warnings and threats. Following a period of time determined by the lender, formal foreclosure proceedings begin. ‘Pre foreclosure’ is the name given to the time between implementation of the foreclosure proceedings and the public auction.
When a defaulted property is placed up for auction, the foreclosure process is completed. 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. 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. REO packages are easiest to buy and sell with a well regarded source of financing in place. 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 Salvatore Buscemi of Dandrew Partners, a hedge fund in New York.