Foreclosures on the rise... Could it be a good thing?

Is it possible to read any of the mortgage trade magazines without reading about foreclosures are on the rise and the sub prime market's tanking on every other page? We know that things are rough right now and they're probably going to get rougher. As the old saying goes though, within every cloud, there's a silver lining. So, what's going to happen in the next couple of years? It seems pretty obvious to me that a few more of the big sub prime lenders are going to tank and the ones that stay are going to tighten up on a lot of the programs that were the typical mortgage broker's bread and butter. A lot of the smaller lenders and even a lot of brokers are also going to go by the wayside. At this point, I don't think it matters or it's the time to figure out whose fault it was. The homeowners? The loan officers? The lenders? I've found that most times in life, it's usually a combination of everyone. Now's the time to start thinking of some alternative ways to originate loans.

Pretty soon the real estate market is going to see a big influx of foreclosed properties. I'm guessing that it will be mostly single family homes, but there will also be a fair share of multi family, commercial & mixed use properties. I'm guessing that a lot of these properties will be in below average condition, but the good news is that they will probably be selling for nice discounts to market price. Who's going to buy these properties? How can you originate the mortgages? There will be some homeowners, but I think there's going to be a lot of real estate investors buying these properties cheap. It's not going to be easy to get them mortgages, but there are some options.

Here are a few the obstacles that you're going to face:
These properties may be below average condition or may have deferred maintenance.
The utilities may not be on.
The investors may not have enough money for the down payment.
The investor may not have great tax returns.
The investors might not have perfect credit.
All of this... and most of the creative sub prime programs that used to be here are long gone. But fear not. There are portfolio lenders and small banks that specialize in this type of lending.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Find a lender that specializes in loan programs for real estate investors.
2. Find some realtors that specialize in REOs. (Real Estate Owned or bank owned properties)
3. Talk to any real estate investor that you know and qualify them for the mortgage.
4. Close some loans and make money.

It’s that simple. My parents always taught me that I have to make lemons into lemonade. This is a plan where you sell the lemonade for a couple grand a piece.

Ari Miller is Vice President of Gelt Financial Corporation, a private portfolio lender in Pennsylvania that specializes in small commercial & investor rehab. loans. Gelt lends in PA, NJ, DE, MD & FL You can contact Ari at (215) 357-4955 ext. 275 or email: AriMiller@GeltFinancial.com. To learn more about Gelt Financial, go to their website www.GeltFinancial.com.