Have you ever gone shopping and found that almost everything was on sale because the season was changing? Well that is the way it is for landlords looking to acquiring new properties right now.
While the rest of the country is looking at this as the worst real estate market in their lifetime, smart landlords know it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase some more inventory at bargain basement prices.
Everyone knows foreclosures are at record levels.
Most of these properties have no equity (or are completely upside-down in the equity department), so few foreclosure investors are purchasing at the courthouse steps.
That means all of these properties are going back to the bank.
Banks are in the business of receiving monthly payments with interest, not the property holding business.
Landlords are in the property holding business and they are discovering that the banks want these properties off-the-books.
While the banks are sitting on these REO properties, they don't have money to lend out and receive interest payments.
They need to sell these homes, even if it is at a big financial loss, to get back into the lending business and out of the "we have a bunch of vacant houses" business.
Most banks list their foreclosed properties with brokers and agents designated as REO Specialist and these agents work mostly with landlords and real estate investors.
Now the real estate investors (Rehabbers and Flippers) are not purchasing nearly as many properties as they were a few years ago.
This is because after they get a house renovated, they are having a much harder time finding a qualified buyer who is able to get a loan to purchase the property.
So that leaves the landlords.
The landlords do not need to turn the property for a quick profit.
They are looking for the long term hold.
The current real estate market is not just a buyer's market since many for these REO Properties need a fair amount of work.
It is truly a landlord's market.