No generation in American history has ever experienced the number of foreclosures and defaulted mortgages as is happening now. 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.
Foreclosures are at the heart of the Bulk REO business, so let’s consider the foreclosure process.
You can’t understand Bulk REO Investments without understanding the process of foreclosure.
When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. After a certain period, the lender will then formally begin foreclosure proceedings. ‘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. This property is then considered to be ‘Real Estate Owned’ by the lender, also known as an ‘REO’ property.
REO properties are usually listed for sale with local real estate agents. However, lenders are increasingly willing to take much less than their REO asset is actually worth. But the price of receiving such great pricing is the need to purchase multiple REO properties (a ‘package’) rather than individual properties.
The REO investment packages available today have provided a way to profitably capitalize on the U.S. recession. 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 Salvatore Buscemi of Dandrew Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.