Monday, 26 December 2011

Foreclosure Sources for Real Estate Investors

By Tom Webb


There are many chances for investors in property in the current day's market. People invest in different ways with varying degrees of risk. Knowing the various options available to investors to source properties is the 1st place start when attempting to find investment opportunities.

Most real estate investors in today's market regard foreclosures as a excellent chance to purchase properties below neighborhood values. Many banks and government sponsored entities often liquidate properties well below valuation. This gives investors in real estate the opportunity to purchase properties and book a profit on the spread between their purchase price and the market valuation. There are numerous sources for these kinds of investment opportunities.

The 1st source of foreclosure properties are govt. or government subsidized entities. These entities include the Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other and less widely known entities such as the Office of Veterans Administration and the Dept of Agriculture (USDA). These organisations all have different methodologies for liquidating their foreclosure inventory. Frequently, these organizations use listing brokers and a traditional property marketing model with signage and MLS exposure. An investor can frequently work with a real estate agent to find these kinds of property prospects.

The second type of foreclosure property is the non-government, normal REO foreclosure property. These properties are those in which a bank or mortgage servicer has foreclosed on the property. There are many hundreds or possibly thousands of different entities that own these varieties of property. These are REO owners. There are widely varying processes utilized in the disposition of real estate in this classification. Most entities use a standard approach to selling real-estate with a property agent or broker and MLS lists so as to market this inventory. A real estate financier should also work with a local property agent when making an attempt to locate opportunities in this category.

A final common way that properties are foreclosed is in a tax sale or tax foreclosure auction. These sales occur when a local govt entity is not paid property taxes that are owed on a parcel. Usually, the local government entities, such as a county or town, will have the power to foreclose and take ownership of the property in order to sell it at public auction for non-payment. This is done in a way that is unique to the local laws and regulations in the market in which the property is found. This makes a tax foreclosure auction more unique and localized to the market in which it is located. This also causes some challenges for real estate investors who want a more settled approach to purchasing properties. The simplest way to find tax foreclosure auction opportunities is to contact the locality in which a potentially desirable property maybe located.

Without reference to the seller of the property, opportunities are frequent in foreclosure properties. Each market is unique and savy investor needs to evaluate the different entities and the different sales processes to reduce risk and maximize potential return. Real Estate Investors regularly favour a certain property type or style of investing. Understanding the numerous techniques of foreclosure is paramount to being profitable.




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