The recession in the U.S. economy has resulted in more foreclosures than experienced by any other generation of Americans. Yet well-funded investors in real estate are seizing upon this opening to profit from an profoundly profitable new opportunity.
The real estate investing strategy du jour is called 'Bulk REO Investing' and is a real monster.
The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let's analyze the foreclosure process now.
You can't understand Bulk REO Investments without understanding the process of foreclosure.
When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. After a certain period, the lender will then formally begin foreclosure proceedings. From that time through public auction is called 'preforeclosure'.
Foreclosure is completed when the defaulted property is auctioned. If the property is not purchased at auction, ownership reverts to the original lender. The property then receives the designation of being an 'REO' or the more formal name, 'Real Estate Owned'.
Lenders usually try to unload their REO properties at close to retail price by listing their REO's with a real estate broker. Yet with increasing frequency, REO properties are being sold for pennies or dimes on the dollar. This happens because the buyer of the REO is required to purchase multiple REO's in a single transaction.
The recession in the United States has yielded huge profits to real estate investors prepared to take advantage. One of the best ways to take advantage of Bulk REO Investing opportunities is to partner with a well-regarded source of funding. 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 Buscemi of Dandrew Partners, a hedge fund in New York.