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.

The new opportunity is known as ‘Bulk REO Investing’ or ‘REO Package Investing’ and it’s a huge opportunity.

Foreclosures are at the heart of the Bulk REO business, so let’s consider the foreclosure process.

Understanding of the foreclosure process is central to understanding Bulk REO investing.

As a home owner misses a payment or two, the lender sends the predictable barage of threatening letters and warnings. The lender directs the subsequent timing of the actual foreclosure proceedings. The ‘pre-foreclosure’ time starts with filing of foreclosure paperwork and concludes at public auction.

Foreclosure is completed when the property is put up for auction. If the property is not purchased at auction, ownership reverts to the original lender. 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. 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. 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 Buscemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.

 

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