Bulk REO Investment 101

There are more foreclosures in the United States right now than we have ever experienced before. But smart real estate investors are turning these ‘lemons’ into ‘lemonade’ in an incredibly profitable new way.

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.

To understand investing in Bulk REO, you have to understand the foreclosure process.

When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. The lender directs the subsequent timing of the actual foreclosure proceedings. From that time through public auction is called ‘preforeclosure’.

Foreclosure is completed when the property is put up for auction. If there are no buyers for the property at auction, the property is returned to the lender. Such a property is then classified as an ‘REO’ (Real Estate Owned) by the lender.

REO properties are usually listed for sale with local real estate agents. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. 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.

These REO packages represent the potential to acquire huge amounts of equity for savvy real estate investors. The most successful Bulk REO Investors will have a well-respected source of funding for their transactions. 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 Partners, a hedge fund in New York.