My Peel Advertsing

Real estate investing and Bulk REO are tough businesses right now.   While the business of buying and holding real estate as a long term investment remains a legitimate and viable strategy for wealth building, profit is no longer guaranteed as it once appeared to be.  

   With that in mind, the astute real estate investor will consider some specific real estate investment concepts to complement the “tried and true” strategy of long-term buy-and-hold investment houses:  

   *  Virtual Real Estate Investing – the term “virtual real estate investing” has multiple meanings, including the use of the internet to buy and sell property, and the purchase and development of internet websites as a means of generating revenue.  With an objective analysis, one can see the conceptual similarity between physical real estate and internet properties including entire websites and even individual pages controlled on larger sites like Facebook, Squidoo and Google Knol.  Increasingly, real estate investors are seeing the clear opportunity presented by developing web “properties” into revenue generating assets much like physical rental properties.  This trend is on the rise and will continue for the foreseeable future.  

   *  Bulk REO – the prevalence of foreclosures in our economy has put mortgage lenders into a difficult position.  With large pools of foreclosed properties on their books, it is no longer efficient for these lenders to sell their foreclosed properties one-by-one through real estate brokers.  As such, mortgage lenders are increasingly opting to sell their foreclosures in “packages” to well-funded investors, at steeply discounted prices.  Bulk REO investing is a rapidly emerging trend and will continue to be a significant tool for real estate acquisition and disposition until such time as the current foreclosure crisis abates and the foreclosure rate regresses to more normal historical levels.  

   It’s a different world in the real estate investment business.   It would be very, very simple to think that the foreclosure crisis has caused the door of opportunity to be slammed entirely shut.   Yet that’s simply not the case.   When one observes the state of the real estate market, it is undeniable that fundamentals matter more than ever.   For example, the selection of the local real estate market is of greater importance than ever, considering the huge disparity that exists among the thousands of real estate markets across the United States.   Additionally, the role of regulatory compliance is greater than ever given the activist nature of the current presidential administration.  

   Without a doubt, there are very major challenges in today’s real estate investing market.   But with some persistence, determination and creativity, there is still plenty of opportunity.

The weakness of the U.S. economy has given rise to the largest epidemic of foreclosures in American history. 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.

Take a just a minute to consider the basics of this highly profitable business.

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. The name for this period is ‘preforeclosure’.

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 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. However, lenders are increasingly willing to take much less than their REO asset is actually worth. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

The REO investment packages available today have provided a way to profitably capitalize on the U.S. recession. Bulk REO Investors are most successful when they have a well-established source of funding for their REO packages. 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 Sal Bushemi of Dandrew Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.

The Rise Of The Bulk REO Business

The weakness of the U.S. economy has given rise to the largest epidemic of foreclosures in American history. But smart real estate investors are turning these ‘lemons’ into ‘lemonade’ in an incredibly profitable new way.

That opportunity is called Bulk REO Investing, and the potential is huge. The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let’s analyze the foreclosure process now.

When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. The formal process of foreclosure begins at the lender’s discretion. Between the formal beginning of the foreclosure process and the public auction is the ‘preforeclosure’ period.

Foreclosure is completed when the defaulted property is auctioned. The lender regains ownership of the property if there are no buyers at auction. This property is then considered to be ‘Real Estate Owned’ by the lender, also known as an ‘REO’ property.

Lenders have no interest in owning property, and thus usually opt to list their REO properties with a local real estate broker in hopes of a retail sale. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

The REO investment packages available today have provided a way to profitably capitalize on the U.S. recession. 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.

Note – One of the nation’s leading experts on bulk reo investing is hedge fund manager Sal Buscemi. Sal Buscemi recognized the irrationality of the real estate boom of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s and capitalized on this by forming his very well-regarded hedge fund, Dandrew Capital Partners.