Bulk REO Investments – The Basics
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.
‘Bulk REO Investing’ is the name of the new strategy, and it’s captured the attention of many well-heeled investors.
Take a just a minute to consider the basics of this highly profitable business.
To understand investing in Bulk REO, you have to understand the foreclosure process.
When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. Following a period of time determined by the lender, formal foreclosure proceedings begin. The name for this period is ‘preforeclosure’.
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 property then receives the designation of being an ‘REO’ or the more formal name, ‘Real Estate Owned’.
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. This happens because the buyer of the REO is required to purchase multiple REO’s in a single transaction.
Qualified real estate investors are increasingly finding once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in these REO packages. 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 Salvatore Bushemi of Dandrew Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.
