Investors look to REO opportunities

Earlier this week at county courthouses all across Georgia, thousands of properties were being called for foreclosure.

Metro Atlanta alone had a record number of scheduled foreclosures last month, with almost 8,500 homes slated to be sold on the courthouse steps. And today, those steps just aren't as crowded as they used to be. Auctions once teemed with real estate investors looking for deals; today it is more common for the number of attorneys calling foreclosures to outnumber potential buyers.

Why? It's simple: the deals for investors just aren't there.

You see, if no one buys a property at the steps, it gets taken back by the lender. It becomes a class of property known as Real Estate Owned, or what's more commonly-called REO. And once that property is classified as an REO, it's listed on the lender's books as a non-performing asset. That means the bank needs to sell it as quickly as possible. With record numbers of homes being foreclosed upon, that REO inventory is only expected to increase - and banks become much more motivated to sell.

Here at Harlan and Associates, we've handled hundreds of REO closings, and we're seeing more and more every day.

Why? Well, most of our real estate investor clients are finding that the real deals are in post-foreclosure REOs - They say investing in REOs is the best way to generate instant potential equity in today's market. It allows them to buy a property at a well-below market price and sell it for more than they paid.

Not only that, but there are more and more financing opportunities for investors buying REO properties. We've handled cash closings. There's private money available. If the numbers are right, hard money lenders are always interested in lending on REOs. And earlier this month, Fannie Mae increased the number of properties an investor may finance, so more conventional non-owner occupant financing is available.

In other words, there are certainly opportunities for investors to profit.

Harlan and Associates has years of experience in helping real estate investors be successful, and ee'd love to be your Georgia closing attorneys. Want to know more? Just contact us today and we'll be happy to discuss how Harlan and Associates can be of service
to you!

Empty Nest Syndrome, originally uploaded by bitzcelt.