| By :
Frank Patrick
Government Demands and Record Foreclosures Mean More Business Opportunity Property preservation companies - those that clean up, repair and maintain foreclosures - can look forward to a lot more jobs. Even those that are already working around the clock. The shadow inventory of abandoned homes - properties that the banks have been delaying declaring as official foreclosures - is finally hitting the streets. Most major banks, such as Citibank and Wells Fargo, have recorded double-digit increases in their REO (Real Estate Owned) inventory because of the backlog, which some financial analysts estimate to be as high as 7 million homes. Meanwhile, new foreclosures keep coming - with 3/4s of America's major cities recording an uptick in mortgage defaults in the first half of 2010. Over 300,000 homes face foreclosure every month. And Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant, says that it expects its inventory of repossessed homes to increase significantly through the rest of the year into 2011. Unemployment may be continuing to plague America, but property preservation is clearly the biggest foreclosure business opportunity around. Banks are also being forced to clean up abandoned homes more quickly by many local governments. The city of Los Angeles, for example, passed an ordinance in July, that levied fines up to $100,000 on financial institutions who didn't act swiftly enough on having foreclosure trash outs performed on vacant properties. Traditionally, banks don't take responsibility for the condition of these homes until they officially take ownership - the L.A. city council now insists that they must take care of the properties as soon as they've notified the owner that the mortgage is in default. Other major American cities, such as Chicago and Las Vegas, are considering similar ordinances, which are becoming more and more common all across the country. This kind of legislation will further increase the demand for property preservation services. If you want to start a property preservation company, the requirements seem fairly simple: get a truck and some basic tools as well as the proper licensing and insurance, and you're good to go. However, having the right training is critical to success, as you must be familiar with what's expected when performing a foreclosure trash out, how to deal with the large national companies that traditionally hire property preservation firms, and just what level of insurance is required - many beginners actually end up spending thousands of dollars more than they need on their insurance coverage.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesbacklink.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
