Most profitable way to use my inside info...

I’m an independent property inspector for major mortgage companies and banks. I do inspections on hundreds of properties in various stages of the process of foreclosure every month.

In some cases I’m still visiting properties that have been vacant for a over a year, yet not even a notice of default has been filed.

The bottom line is I’m the first to know when someone is late with a single payment.

Any advice is appreciated.

This is an easy way to find distressed property owners. You could track down the owner, find out what their situation is, and maybe find some good buys that will also save them from foreclosure. If there are numerous good deals, try accumulate a buyer’s list so you can put the house under contract and assign the contract to the buyer. Or you could just take a finder’s fee for finding good deals.
With a few hours spent on the side researching these properties, you may find that you do have some valuable inside info. I’m assuming there would be no conflict of interest as a contractor doing this.
Without having any experience myself, these may be some possible ideas.

Good luck.

[QUOTE=inspector;883459]I’m an independent property inspector for major mortgage companies and banks. I do inspections on hundreds of properties in various stages of the process of foreclosure every month.

In some cases I’m still visiting properties that have been vacant for a over a year, yet not even a notice of default has been filed.

The bottom line is I’m the first to know when someone is late with a single payment.

Any advice is appreciated.[/QUOTE]

There might be a conflict of interest that puts your day job at risk. It could be a problem if it looks like your are compromising the confidentiality of the borrower and the lender when there has been no public notice. I am not clear what your relationship is to the actual lender and what agreements you operate under.

Assuming that is not the case, the advice already provided is good.

BTW - It is very unlikely that lenders are approaching you when someone is 30 days late. Technically the borrower is not even in default yet. The lender might be contacting the borrower. The idea that they would spend money to send out an inspector when it could be as simple as the check was delayed in the mail does not make that much sense given all the other things lenders are trying to keep up with. It is a minor point.

“The idea that they would spend money to send out an inspector when it could be as simple as the check was delayed in the mail does not make that much sense given all the other things lenders are trying to keep up with.”

In most cases they will send out an inspector if it’s a day late. Why? Because they can turn around and charge the mortgagor a fee for doing so.

That’s why we get the bulk of our inspections on the 16th of every month. Hellava business ain’t it.

Thanks for the advice.

[QUOTE=inspector;883618]“The idea that they would spend money to send out an inspector when it could be as simple as the check was delayed in the mail does not make that much sense given all the other things lenders are trying to keep up with.”

In most cases they will send out an inspector if it’s a day late. Why? Because they can turn around and charge the mortgagor a fee for doing so.

That’s why we get the bulk of our inspections on the 16th of every month. Hellava business ain’t it.

Thanks for the advice.[/QUOTE]

You get the bulk of your orders on the 16th from what you know. That does not mean the borrowers are only 1 month late. Do you have evidence that supports the idea that inspectors are sent after the 1st month rather than the orders are for borrowers who are multiple months late?

It might be more correct for me to say the borrower is less than a month late as the 16th is not a month after the due date.

“Do you have evidence that supports the idea that inspectors are sent after the 1st month rather than the orders are for borrowers who are multiple months late?”

Evidence? LOL…Uh…I speak to the owners everyday…and personally know more than a few. If the mortgage servicer doesn’t receive payment by the 15th. Believe me I’m going to get a work order on that property.

Miss a payment and you too will find someone like me paying a visit to check on the collateral. And you’ll be charged a steep fee for my trip.

Inspector: maybe you can shed some light on why many properties are sitting empty for months (years!) in my farm without even a notice of default even though the borrower stopped paying. Borrowers have abandoned these properties and banks are not foreclosing. Was it just the robo-signing issue putting foreclosures on hold? Does the bank have a strategy or rationale for not foreclosing that you are aware of? I have a couple of these deals in front of me right now and I’m trying to figure out if there is something to be done with these props and what the risks are.

“Inspector: maybe you can shed some light on why many properties are sitting empty for months (years!) in my farm without even a notice of default”

Yes well the reason is quite simple. The Banks didn’t or don’t want to show how many bad loans they really have. Although it will begin to speed up as inventories decline.

[QUOTE=inspector;883699]“Inspector: maybe you can shed some light on why many properties are sitting empty for months (years!) in my farm without even a notice of default”

Yes well the reason is quite simple. The Banks didn’t or don’t want to show how many bad loans they really have. Although it will begin to speed up as inventories decline.[/QUOTE]

Technically that is not correct. Once a loan is 90 days late it is already in the bad debt column so the bank has to provision for the loan. Taking action to foreclose vs. just having the loan in default ties up the same amount of capital at the bank.

If you don’t think the Banks/servicers aren’t delaying the foreclosure filings for strategic (money) reasons then I don’t know what to tell you.

Could it be the Banks make more money or at least lose less money by NOT foreclosing on homes. Believe me the banks are dragging out the foreclosure process for their own selfish reasons.

Here’s an excellent article on the so called “Strategic Non-Foreclosure” process. Take particular care to read bullet point #4.

[QUOTE=inspector;883730]If you don’t think the Banks/servicers aren’t delaying the foreclosure filings for strategic (money) reasons then I don’t know what to tell you.

Could it be the Banks make more money or at least lose less money by NOT foreclosing on homes. Believe me the banks are dragging out the foreclosure process for their own selfish reasons.

Here’s an excellent article on the so called “Strategic Non-Foreclosure” process. Take particular care to read bullet point #4.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/02/strategic-non-foreclosure-becomes-official-policy/[/QUOTE]

  1. I read the blog. There are mistakes in what is posted there or less than a full understanding of the process.

  2. There has always been a deed in lieu of the foreclosure process. Just like short sales are an agreed way to end a default.

  3. After the borrower is 90 days late the lender takes the hit. The lender does not get to avoid the financial hit if they do not foreclose. There could be a difference in the hit they have created a reserve for and what actually happens. Some of the time they will show a smaller loss so they need to record the difference as income. Other times they will show a bigger loss so they take a 2nd hit.

  4. In the example provided of someone leasing the property for 6 months in return for keeping it in good shape leaves out a few details. It could easily be the lender has take title as part of the exercise so there was a transfer of title. It might not have show up as a legal foreclosure (what that means depends on the state and the process chosen). In other words, the fact that the family still lives there tells us nothing about who the owner is.

  5. The robo signing issue did put a log jam into the works.

  6. Even before the robo signing process some states had a 12 month or longer backlog in the court. Those would be judicial foreclosure states as there is no court action when there is a trust deed sale.

  7. Lenders are not legally able to hold onto property or to avoid dealing with a defaulted loan. They can lose their license if they do not take action. Now, many of the foreclosures that are out there have already completed the process and the US taxpayer is the owner through Fannie, Freddie and FHA or the VA. In other words, just because it has not been sold does not mean the lender still has a stake in the deal.

None of the above changes the opportunity if you can unwrap what is going on and fine the decision maker. The idea that a property has not been foreclosed upon because the bank will do better by waiting is wrong. The lending rules do not give the lenders that much wiggle room as a general principal. Individual cases are subject to special processing like most things in life.

Wow. Look what the site says about comments

I was taking a look at some of the comments. A number of people have taken what was written as if it is actual fact. Common issue with the web where anyone can say anything and people believe it. People might even believe what I write.

I scrolled around and found this just above the comments. It seems to be a message from the site owner to anyone thinking about posting a comment. God complex comes to mind.

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Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
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