There are more foreclosures in the United States right now than we have ever experienced before. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. Yet with increasing frequency, REO properties are being sold for pennies or dimes on the dollar. However, the purchase of a ‘package’ (or group) or REO properties is the trade-off for receiving such great prices.

These REO packages represent the potential to acquire huge amounts of equity for savvy real estate investors. REO packages are easiest to buy and sell with a well regarded source of financing in place. 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 Buscemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.