Bulk REO Investing 101 For Beginners

The recession in the U.S. economy has resulted in more foreclosures than experienced by any other generation of Americans. But smart real estate investors are turning these ‘lemons’ into ‘lemonade’ in an incredibly profitable new way.

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

The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let’s analyze the foreclosure process now.

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

A home owner who misses one or more mortgage payments is faced with an ever-increasing volume of threatening correspondence from their lender. Following a period of time determined by the lender, formal foreclosure proceedings begin. 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. Ownership of the property is returned to the lender if the property is not sold at auction. Such a property is then classified as an ‘REO’ (Real Estate Owned) by the lender.

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. 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. One of the best ways to take advantage of Bulk REO Investing opportunities is to partner with a well-regarded source of funding. 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 Sal Bushemi of Dandrew Partners, a hedge fund in New York.