Bulk REO Investing For Beginners

With more foreclosures now than ever before, America’s weak real estate market seems to set new dismal records each month. Yet as always, this challenge has given rise to a huge new opportunity for alert real estate investors.

The real estate investing strategy du jour is called ‘Bulk REO Investing‘ and is a real monster.

Consider with me, if you will, the fundamentals of the Bulk REO business.

To understand Bulk REO investing is to understand the foreclosure process.

Mortgage lenders faced with a non-paying home owner send a large volume of threats, warnings and documentation to the borrower who is late. The official foreclosure proceedings begin subsequently, as directed by the lender. Between the formal beginning of the foreclosure process and the public auction is the ‘preforeclosure’ period.

To complete the foreclosure process, the property is auction to the public. The lender regains ownership of the property if there are no buyers at auction. The designation of ‘REO’ (Real Estate Owned) is then attached to the foreclosed property.

Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. However, lenders are increasingly willing to take much less than their REO asset is actually worth. Lenders are willing to do so in exchange for the buyer’s agreement to purchase a ‘package’ of REO’s rather than a single property.

Qualified real estate investors are increasingly finding once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in these REO packages. REO packages are easiest to buy and sell with a well regarded source of financing in place. 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 hedge fund in New York.