The following is from the first chapter of my real estate book, A to Z of Foreclosures: Real Estate Worth Millions Acquired with $101. This book outlines 14 different methods to buy real estate. Find more about the book on http://drsinghbooks.com and http://amazon.com
In this time of economic uncertainty, when the country is facing a credit meltdown, investors in real estate are asking themselves whether any realistic opportunities remain available to them. The answer is a resounding “Yes.” Uncertainty always provides opportunity.
Urban legend tells us of an old Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Of course, we all know that curses can be inverted blessings. These are interesting times, and they open doors to opportunistic investors.
Where does an opportunistic investor look to find these opening doors? Although there is any number of areas an investor could look into, acquiring properties through the foreclosure process offers multiple opportunities. Examples of investors doing just this abound.
One prime example is the opportunities presented by the collapse of the savings and loan association industry in the late 1980’s. That crisis arose out of extensive speculation in real estate by savings and loan associations. In that crisis, many savings and loan associations became insolvent and were taken over by the Office of Thrift Supervision. Congress passed a law entitled the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act, commonly known as FIRREA (pronounced Fie-Ree-Ah). FIRREA created the Resolution Trust Company, commonly referred to as the RTC. Savings and loan associations had acquired many real estate assets in the course of the crisis. The RTC was charged with the task of disposing of those assets. Under then existing market conditions, investors were able to purchase properties at substantially discounted prices. A number of real estate investors made fortunes in the aftermath of the savings and loan association collapse.
