Interest, Activity Ramps Up For Investors Buying Deeds To Underwater Homes For Small Cash Outlays

In St. Petersburg, Florida, ABC News reports:

• At the Hillsborough County, Fla., courthouse bidders line up twice a day to buy distressed properties, including homeowner association foreclosures. HOAs foreclose on homes after the owner fails to pay association fees.



• The HOA foreclosures are attracting investors who often take temporary ownership of the property and rent it out until the bank gets around to foreclosing on its mortgage. One group of investors has purchased 71 properties valued at $8.2 million for $220,000, according to the St. Petersburg Times. The group's big purchase this year: A four-bedroom bay-front home in Apollo Beach, Fla., valued at nearly $1.2 million sold for $10,010 to FYM Inc.

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• Investors purchase the deed or title to the property and are able to rent the property until the lender forecloses, which can take up to two to three years. In the meantime, investors are able to recoup the price paid to the HOA and make a profit, sometimes in a matter of months. The story was first reported in the St. Petersburg Times.(1)

For more, see Investors Purchase $1.2 Million Home for $10K.

(1) Some real estate brokerages have also begun offering their own "Cash For Keys" programs in search of underwater homeowners willing to sign over the deed to their homes and give the buyer immediate possession in exchange for a couple of thousand bucks. See e.g. CASH FOR KEYS OF YOUR HOME - Even if you Owe More Than It’s Worth!:

• "Why let your property go to foreclosure auction and have the bank take possession of your property? With our Cash for Keys program you will get paid to sell your property to a buyer who will work with the bank and lien holders to settle via cash payment(s), all debts related to the home."