Buying Foreclosures, REOs. Short Sales, FSBO, MLS and More

Homeowners facing financial hardships may be able to negotiate with their lenders for a loan modification or refinance that will reduce their monthly mortgage payment. In some cases, this is enough to allow the borrower to remain in the home. In other cases, however, the borrower may still be unable to meet the demands of the loan – because of factors like loss of a job, divorce, illness or death of a spouse – and may have to sell the home through a short sale or lose the home to foreclosure. As difficult as these situations are, a qualified real estate professional can help guide buyers and sellers successfully through the process.

Short Sales
Real Estate Investing: Is Now The Time To Take Advantage Of The Buyer's Market? Investopedia Investopedia Contributor

While the Department of Housing and Urban Development has lots of different programs, its bread and butter falls into two categories: subsidies that help poor people pay for homes (Section 8, HOPE VI, and the like) and subsidies that help middle to upper income people pay for homes (FHA and oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Most of what HUD does is deal with the unaffordability at housing by throwing money at people who use housing.

But why is housing unaffordable? It’s because state and (especially) local governments impose regulations that artificially restrict the supply of housing, such as zoning and rent control. They do this at the behest of incumbent homeowners and renters who gain financial advantage because what they have has become scarce.

Here’s some good news. Some hedge funds are expecting the housing market to recover. And guess what? They’re planning to profit off of it.
English: Foreclosure signs, Mortgage crisis,

Flipping Houses 2.0: Sylvan Road Capital is buying up foreclosed homes, renovating them and renting them out for profit.

A former Morgan Stanley housing strategist who left in May to start his own hedge fund is buying up low-cost foreclosed properties, extensively renovating them and renting them out.

Oliver Chang launched his firm just two days ago and expects to invest over $1 billion in the single-family rental market over the next two years–or 10,000 homes. Sylvan Road Capital said it already has initial capital from a private equity firm to acquire over $300 million in homes.

Looking at the national numbers, they are somewhat right to do so. Pending home sales hit a five year high in October, according to the National Association of Realtors, and the brisk pace of existing home sales is 11% higher than a year ago. Just this week the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index reported that September home prices were up for the sixth consecutive month. Even in terms of economic growth, housing has provided a so-called bright spot, contributing 0.3% to gross domestic product in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department.

Jill & I just locked up another REO, this Fannie Mae property is a 2 bed/2 bath/1 car garage with about 1500 sq. ft. of living area. It was listed at 44,900 & we went in at 28K; they came back at 41,900; so countered at 32K, they dropped to 40K; we went to 36,250 & they dropped a big $100 down to 39,900. So we went up $100 also & they accepted $ 36,350.
We were emailed instructions to wire transfer the EMD ... after reviewing it I noticed it was for a different property, no one in the RE office or the law firm checked it. I'm glad I found it because if I didn't our deposit would have been floating in limbo.
We figure we need to spend about 10K in materials
for the remodel & should be able to sell for 65K to 69K. A very nice return!

What happens when you have a property under contract and can't find a buyer to match it with?

How do you legally void or cancel the purchase agreement with the seller?

Over the last few years, many homebuyers and investors alike have been snatching up foreclosure properties in an effort to get a great deal. In 2013, approximately 16% of all homes sold were foreclosure homes. There is no doubt that the national real estate market – and therefore most local markets – are recovering. As a result, many experts expect for mortgage rates to climb in 2014.

Despite the rising home prices and recovering real estate market, there are still some great bargain properties on the market – you just have to know where to look.

When looking for distressed homes, the best option is to consider states that still have a high rate of default and foreclosure. The following three states are where you should start your search:

Florida

I've come across a property that is listed in probate but I only have the information of the home owner. Is there any way to find the person that is executing the probate or the personal representative?

Anyone know of any seasoning requirements with Freddie Mac?

Would anyone on here consider partnering on wholesale bank owned deals with an new investor and split the profits 50/50?