Bankruptcy alone does not relinquish ownership of the property. The bank has to legally foreclosure on the investor in order to take back the property. This means the investor could actually keep collecting any rents received until the property is sold at auction assuming the bank does not assume the rents as they are entitled to. The main thing bankruptcy accomplishes is that it eliminates the right of the lender to collect a deficiency judgment from the investor when the property sells for less than its loan amount.

Foreclosure Viewing Instructions: Remove the Front Door Yourself!

Most experienced real estate investors and rehabbers have figured out a way to bypass being accompanied by a real estate agent when viewing vacant homes including bank owned properties.  Some investors have real estate agent friends that get the lockbox combos for them, while others sweet talk or persuade the listing brokers into offering up the combos.  This may not be legal in some cases, but it is a fact in our business.  Some agents listing vacant properties including REO’s, will actually instruct investors to bring a power drill with them to remove the front door to gain access to the house as long as the door is screwed shut upon leaving.  This is understandable given the number of real estate investors just kicking the tires and rarely ever buying anything.

Viewing… Read the rest

FHA Admits They are Hindering the Real Estate Recovery

The FHA has finally come to the realization that many investors buying and fixing foreclosures are taking much less than 90-days to rehab their homes.  Good rehabbers can actually have an ugly house ready for occupancy less than 30 days after its purchase.  So beginning February 1, 2010, the FHA is suspending the 90-day resale restriction imposed on sellers selling to buyers using FHA insured financing.

In order to re-sell a home to a FHA buyer in under 90 days, the following conditions must be met.

This chart was created using the information listed in the Waiver of Requirements of 24CFR 203.37a(b)(2) which is located on the HUD website at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf.

Here are two more points not listed in the chart.

1. The 90-days flip restriction waiver will expire one… Read the rest

A busy rehabber and real estate investor does not have the time to view every foreclosure that comes on the market and work out the detailed costs of every purchase.  That approach is not an effective use of the real estate investor’s time and resources.  You will miss out on many good deals trying to analyze the cost of every rehab prior to submitting an offer.  Let’s make life as simple as possible here.

Follow these steps to start submitting multiple offers on foreclosures, REO’s, and HUD properties without ever seeing the property.  Learn to submit offers based on price points and spend that quality time with family and friends instead.

1.  Learn the neighborhood

The first thing an investor must do is learn the neighborhood inside and out that is going to be targeted for flipping homes.  … Read the rest

First, Why Buy REO’s?

Because REO properties or bank owned foreclosures, will be the easiest properties to acquire and locate and therefore the best properties to start your real estate investing career with.  REO homes have already been through the foreclosure process, they have been returned to the bank, and are being offered with clear titles with no negotiating necessary other than the price.  Real estate investors interested in starting a fix and flip or fix and hold business should focus their initial efforts on construction cost control and marketing of their affordable housing rather than spending three to six months using creative techniques to find a property for $5K to $10K less than what is already on the MLS.  These savings will quickly be lost when the unprepared investor winds up blowing their construction budget or holding on… Read the rest