Fundamentals Of Being A Bulk REO Investor
There are more foreclosures in the United States right now than we have ever experienced before. 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.
The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let’s analyze the foreclosure process now.
To understand Bulk REO investing is to understand the foreclosure process.
As a borrower becomes increasingly behind in his mortgage, the lender regularly calls and writes the borrower with default warnings and threats. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. The ‘pre-foreclosure’ time starts with filing of foreclosure paperwork and concludes at public auction.
Foreclosure is completed when the defaulted property is auctioned. The lender regains ownership of the property if there are no buyers at auction. The lender then categorizes the property as ‘Real Estate Owned’ - or ‘REO’ for short.
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.
There is huge profit potential in these REO packages for qualified real estate investors. 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 Bushemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.
