There are more foreclosures in the United States right now than we have ever experienced before. But challenge always gives rise to opportunity, and opportunistic real estate investors are rising to the challenge.
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 home owner misses a payment or two, the lender sends the predictable barage of threatening letters and warnings. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. From that time through public auction is called ‘preforeclosure’.
To complete the foreclosure process, the property is auction to the public. If there are no buyers at the foreclosure auction, the lender regains title to the property. The lender then categorizes the property as ‘Real Estate Owned’ – or ‘REO’ for short.
Typically, lenders list their REO properties with local real estate agents in hopes of selling the property to a retail buyer who will pay full price. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. This happens because the buyer of the REO is required to purchase multiple REO’s in a single transaction.
The recession in the United States has yielded huge profits to real estate investors prepared to take advantage. Bulk REO Investors are most successful when they have a well-established source of funding for their REO packages. 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 Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.
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