Many real estate investors really begin their real estate portfolios in the traditional manner by first acquiring a property for their own use for a period of time, followed by another home purchase and the rental of their first home. Others have discovered that buying income-producing properties in an unusual approach is the greatest way to quickly become a real estate investor.

In this informative blog article, we briefly examine some of the most popular ways to obtain real estate investment properties or engage in the real estate market.

Finding Foreclosures and REOs

Would you want to purchase real estate at wholesale or retail rates? The response is obviously “wholesale”! Real estate investing follows the same principle of purchasing low and selling high as the stock market.

Purchasing a property during foreclosures or as a bank-owned property is one of the finest methods to increase your chances of making a solid return on your investment. The value of such investments is typically higher than that of a traditional purchase, but not without some extra risk!

In order for the lender to recover part of their investment, they must take legal possession and control of properties that have gone into foreclosures because the owner has not made loan payments or other responsibilities under the terms of the loan. A real estate foreclosure is comparable to a lender taking back possession of a car from an owner who misses a payment even though it is more formal legally and takes more time.

Foreclosures

woman's hand holding small house

The procedure through which a lender seizes ownership of a property for which a loan is in default is referred to as foreclosures. The two most frequent high-risk errors made by homeowners that result in foreclosures are:

  • Failing to make the required mortgage payments: For instance, homeowners who overstretched and bought their homes using up to 100% financing (they made little or no down payment towards the home’s purchase price and were, in effect, living on the edge).
  • Excessive borrowing when refinancing: Many homeowners refinanced their homes due to low-interest rates and when there was a dramatic rise in real estate values across the majority of the world they faced setbacks while repaying the loan.

The failure of owners to comply with additional loan criteria is another reason why properties may be vulnerable to foreclosures. Examples include:

  • Failing to keep the property in excellent physical condition or failing to maintain adequate insurance coverage.
  • Owners who are not present are unable to handle the property. Good property owners either visit their properties themselves or appoint managers to periodically visit and examine their properties on a regular basis.
  • Owners ignore significant issues. Some houses go into foreclosures because the present owner decides to leave rather than deal with major, unfixable issues with the property.

Find out what kind of foreclosures procedure is most frequently employed in your state before looking at foreclosures homes. There are two categories in which your state fits:

Deed of trust state: The property title is held in the name of a third party or trustee when a loan is made in a state that recognizes deeds of trust. In a state with a deed of trust, a foreclosures may take 60 to 120 days to complete. This procedure is called non – judicial foreclosures.

Mortgage state: No trustee or other party is designated in a mortgage state. The mortgage holder must move to court and pursue legal remedies, such as judicial foreclosures, when a mortgage defaults due to nonpayment or another breach.

Technically, the usual foreclosures procedure for property has four steps, giving buyers four opportunities to purchase the property.

Pre-foreclosures

Every bforeclosures process starts when the owner either missing a debt EMI payment or receives written notice from the lender that a requirement or term of the loan isn’t being adhered to. The time before the lender formally files the Notice of Default, which starts the formal foreclosures process, is known as the pre-foreclosures stage.

Default Alert

The filing of a Notice of Default is the initial official legal move in the foreclosures process. The filing of the Notice of Default should be a serious wake-up call for the owner if he wasn’t worried when he first started skipping loan payments.

Foreclosures Sale

The key variation in the foreclosures procedure, which varies from state to state and country to country, is whether the loan is secured by a deed of trust, which uses a nonjudicial process, or a mortgage, which requires judicial foreclosures.

Redemption Period

In some areas, the borrower has the option to buy back the property she lost through the sale by paying the full amount owing (including the loan debt, late fines, the lender’s legal fees, and all sale expenses) and regaining title.

Lender REO (Real estate Owned)

home salesman stretches holding black pen

You might discover that your next opportunity to buy the property is from the lender’s real estate owned (REO) department that specializes in handling foreclosed properties because titles to the majority of foreclosed properties wind up with the lender. Due to the fact that they won’t be dealing with an emotional or unstable owner, several property investors have discovered that this is one of the ideal periods to purchase their home. To achieve your aim of purchasing real estate at a discount, learning the ins and outs of the lenders’ policies and procedures for selling these foreclosed properties can be extremely helpful.

Although lender REOs continue to be one of the go-to tactics for self-styled real estate gurus, the truth is that the lenders are neither stupid nor kind. Although the balance sheet impact of these nonperforming loans is negative, they won’t just sell a property for less than market value just to get it off their books.

Short Sales: Getting a Head Start on the Foreclosures and REO Competition

Real estate Investors that are astute understand that the best properties are those that are hidden from competitors and from the open market, where the price may be driven higher. They are also aware that motivated sellers are more likely to strike a deal, and there isn’t much that will motivate a seller of a house more than the prospect of losing their home to foreclosures and having their credit destroyed.

Recognizing Advantages For Sellers

Many homeowners discovered that they now have negative equity in their homes purchased ten years ago because of the decline in home values; they literally couldn’t afford to sell the properties because the sale proceeds wouldn’t cover the loan balance (a situation known as being upside down). A clear example is that of the Trump Towers in Mumbai and also some other famous and infamous luxury condo developments in Mumbai that were sold at highly inflated prices ten years ago during the booking period and are now being sold by investors at 30 % to even 50 % below the booking rate!

Many of these owners were unlikely to be able or willing to continue making their debt service payments on the upside-down property since they had additional financial difficulties and no savings to fall back on. In this circumstance, an owner of such properties is a strong candidate for a short sale.

Comparing Short Sales And Other Properties

It might be difficult for certain real estate investors to purchase REO or foreclosures properties. With foreclosuress, the public auction is advertised and easily accessible to all real estate investors who are interested, but there is little information available and there is rarely enough time to carry out thorough due diligence. Do remember that surprises abound with foreclosures properties!

The best foreclosures auction properties frequently draw the attention of other (often savvy) purchasers who are willing to spend more for the property than you are if they believe they can make a good deal later on. In contrast, with a short sale, you can typically negotiate a sale closing date that gives you more time to locate financing. With a traditional sale, you must have 10% of the purchase price in cash and must promptly get a loan for the remaining balance within 30 days.

Identifying Potential Short Sales

sales agreement insurance purchase

The idea seems a lot simpler than it is to put into practice. Finding houses where the owner is behind on payments but the lender hasn’t filed a Notice of Default is the main challenge.

You can typically obtain listings of foreclosures from real estate brokers like us and even lenders directly. A lot of distressed sellers contact us and are looking for buyers to close fast. We have many inventories of short sale opportunities. However, there might be no sign of trouble with pre-foreclosures homes that are still owner-occupied and eligible for a short sale. This is especially relevant in light of recent requests post-Covid for many lenders to exercise more patience with homeowners who are just a bit overdue on their mortgage payments.

Obtaining A Lender’s Consent For A Short Sale

Finding a short sale opportunity is challenging, and you might have trouble persuading the lender to allow a short sale on top of that. The government has recently started to demand that lenders engage with borrowers at a level of patience and cooperation never before seen. Many negative equity loans and the thousands of requests for finance restructuring cause certain lenders to become overburdened. Lenders are pressured to devise a workout plan with the present borrower while simultaneously being driven to take into account short sales.

Investigating Leasing Options

Without making sizable cash down payment, a lease option is a great method to eventually control and buy a home. In essence, a lease option is two separate contracts integrated into one document. In addition to the standard terms of a lease (rental agreement), the tenant also has the unilateral right to purchase the property in the future, subject to certain restrictions.

Investigation Of Probate Sales And Auctions

human hands holding white house

Probate or sales of properties in estates must be included in a review of the more atypical real estate ventures. Additionally, with the ongoing growth of the Internet, auctions are becoming a more common way to sell real estate.

Probate Sales

Death provides opportunities for the purchase of desirable real estate at affordable costs, making it even more trustworthy than taxes. Every day, someone in your community passes away and leaves behind real estate, which his heirs might not want to keep.

Property Auctions

In some places, one of the most well-liked methods for builders and investors to market their elevated inventory of houses is through real estate auctions, in which corporations advertise that they are selling top real estate for below-market prices. These auctions are not to be confused with foreclosures sales, which are sometimes referred to as auctions.

In a Nutshell

For investors, real estate investments may be a very lucrative opportunity with high potential returns. But where should you begin your search? Real estate-owned assets, which are owned by lenders, are where many investors locate chances. Instead of being sold at auction, these properties go through the default and foreclosures processes. Lenders are frequently extremely inclined to sell because maintaining it might be pricey. These assets are available at a significant discount and as a smart and market-savvy real estate investor you must fully research and investigate such deals in the Indian market!

Content Writer at Gupta & Sen
Sweta is a real estate professional, a proficient content writer and a journalist who also conducts soft skill training & motivational lectures. She holds a BE in Engineering and a Masters in Business Management.
Sweta Mor
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