According to RealtyTrac, foreclosures have skyrocketed during the first ten months of this year by almost 94%, and if the current trend holds true it's possible that up to 2 million homeowners stand to lose their homes in the next year and a half. That's bad news for the homeowners, bad news for the economy, and a devastating reality for the banking industry that must take back all these homes.

Imagine Banks Having To Own And Maintain 2 Million Homes!

Does this create opportunity? Savvy real estate investors have the potential to realize unprecedented profits if they play their cards right by investing in bank owned properties commonly know as Real Estate Owned ("REO"). As banks continue taking more and more homes back into inventory, their level of desperation is rising. The truth is, they can't afford to keep these houses on their books indefinitely. They need to move these houses and they need to move them quickly. This is where you come in!

A lot of people make the mistake in assuming that they are out of luck when trying to negotiate with the bank, because banks typically bring in their own appraiser. Banks also try to stipulate that the house must sell for more than "fair market value".

Too many investors with limited experience negotiating REO sales with banks decide to walk away from the table at this point with the mistaken assumption that there is no way the bank would accept their offer. A savvy real estate investor knows that this is when things are just beginning to get interesting!

You can win the REO negotiation game with the bank, but you have to sell the bank on why it makes sense for them to accept your offer. As part of your offer package to a bank, be sure to include a list of low comparative sales that fully support your offer price. There may be other higher sales in there area, but you are not required to included these in the list of comparable sales. Remember the bank can do its own homework, but you must present real sales that support your offer price.

Another really good way of getting banks to accept your offer is by providing them with a complete list of the extensive and costly repairs required to the house to bring it up to "sellable" condition. By casting the house in its most negative light, you dramatically improve your chances of getting the bank to accept your offer.

Another key to getting your offer accepted is to offer all cash and close in 30 days or less. The last thing the bank wants is to agree to a sale with you and then have to do the same thing over again because you could not get a mortgage. Banks are generally very motivated to get things off their books before the month ends so they can show their bosses and boards how good they are at moving real estate owned and solve the bank's problems. So an offer that closes within the month is viewed very positive by a bank

In today's market, it's relatively easy to get a lender to go along with a REO sale for a discount of 15% to 30% off of fair market value. If you're a new investor and have limited cash and capital, this may be an outstanding way to buy at below market prices.

You can pick up a house at a good price, make a few repairs, and flip it pretty quickly for a pretty good profit or hold long term as a rental.

If you have a large line of credit with ready cash, or can plug into a network of private investors or hard money lenders, you can buy blocks of REO directly from the bank - I'm talking about 10, 15, or even 20 properties at a time - and get them for about $.50 on the dollar. You can see how quickly a good investment can turn into a great investment.

The unprecedented number of homes going back into inventory has banks scrambling to unload these properties as quickly as possible. By having access to cash you can grab as many of these money-making REO as you can get your hands on before they're all gone.

Regardless of what route you take, there's never been a better time to buy a property at a steep discount. If you're ready, willing, and able to do what it takes to capitalize on current market conditions, you can make a lot of money investing in REO.

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