The Rise Of The Bulk REO Investing Industry
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.
That opportunity is called Bulk REO Investing, and the potential is huge. Let’s take a moment to analyze the basics of this incredibly lucrative business.
When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. Between the formal beginning of the foreclosure process and the public auction is the ‘preforeclosure’ period.
The defaulted property is ultimately auctioned, thus completing the foreclosure process. Ownership of the property is returned to the lender if the property is not sold at auction. The lender then categorizes the property as ‘Real Estate Owned’ – or ‘REO’ for short.
Lenders usually try to unload their REO properties at close to retail price by listing their REO’s with a real estate broker. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. However, the purchase of a ‘package’ (or group) or REO properties is the trade-off for receiving such great prices.
The recession in the United States has yielded huge profits to real estate investors prepared to take advantage. One of the best ways to take advantage of Bulk REO Investing opportunities is to partner with a well-regarded source of funding. 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.
Note – One of the nation’s leading experts on bulk reo investing is hedge fund manager Sal Buscemi. Sal Buscemi recognized the irrationality of the real estate boom of the late 1990′s and early 2000′s and capitalized on this by forming his very well-regarded hedge fund, Dandrew Capital Partners.