The weakness of the U.S. economy has given rise to the largest epidemic of foreclosures in American history. Yet well-funded investors in real estate are seizing upon this opening to profit from an profoundly profitable new opportunity.
This new opportunity - known as 'Bulk REO Investing' - is so huge it's captured attention from wealthy investors and private investment funds alike.
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 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. 'Pre foreclosure' is the name given to the time between implementation of the foreclosure proceedings and the public auction.
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'.
Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. However, REO properties are now frequently sold for far less than their 'book value'. This happens because the buyer of the REO is required to purchase multiple REO's in a single transaction.
There is huge profit potential in these REO packages for qualified real estate investors. The most successful Bulk REO Investors will have a well-respected source of funding for their transactions. 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.
