The weakness of the U.S. economy has given rise to the largest epidemic of foreclosures in American history. 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.
Take a just a minute to consider the basics of this highly profitable 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. The official foreclosure proceedings begin subsequently, as directed by the lender. The ‘pre-foreclosure’ time starts with filing of foreclosure paperwork and concludes at public auction.
Foreclosure is completed when the defaulted property is auctioned. 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.
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. 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.
Qualified real estate investors are increasingly finding once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in these REO packages. 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 Salvatore Bushemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.
