Banks
Today's banks come in all sizes and shapes. Local banks are slowly disappearing, giving way to larger community or regional banks. Then there are the larger multistate and national banks. All of them have made loans secured by real estate, and all have loans that have gone sour.
You can be sure that all banks, regardless of their size, own real estate that they want sold. And they will be only too happy to make sure you know about their properties.
All lenders have a Real Estate Owned department. It is commonly called an REO. This is the department responsible for protecting the lender's collateral and for selling any foreclosed properties to recoup the money loaned to any defaulted borrowers.
Banks notify potential buyers in a number of methods. Once you are placed on their foreclosure investor lists, the banks will notify you of new REO properties by:
Phone calls
Fax
E-mail
Regular mail
Some lenders also post their REO properties on their Web site. Some offer e-mail notification when a new property has been posted. On occasion, some will tell you they do not have any such list available.
To get on the REO department's investor distribution list, simply ask. It may take a phone call or two to locate the correct person within the REO department. The bank wants buyers, and they are only too happy to add your name and contact information as a potential purchaser of an REO property.
Keep in mind that you will not be the only real-estate investor on the REO department's list. Other investors will be notified when you are. For that reason you must be willing and able to move swiftly. Your competition, other foreclosure real-estate investors, will also be aggressively seeking promising properties. You need to move quickly before another investor presents, offers, and purchases the property.
Be sure to visit the local branch offices of the banks located within your investment area. Get to know the branch managers. Ask the managers who to contact at their bank's REO department to get on the notification lists.
Some banks now refer to their REO departments as the Loss Mitigation office. Some might also refer to their REO department as the foreclosure department.
Some of the larger banks have established separate entities or companies to originate mortgages. The names of the mortgage divisions will sound similar to the bank's name, yet they are separate divisions. It can all get quite confusing, but what you need to find out is whom to contact to get the REO listings.
