PROPERTY PRESERVATION PAYS OFF FOR FLORIDA COUNTY
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by: MattCBA
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The slow foreclosure process has plagued many areas across America. An abundance of vacant homes are quickly turning into safety hazards and eyesores – and also severely taking down property values. Property preservation companies, specialists in foreclosure trash outs and maintenance, routinely clean up and secure these unoccupied properties, but, often, no one is employed to perform this vital service and neighboring residents are left to watch the area deteriorate.
Enter Pasco County in Florida, located along the Gulf Coast in Florida. As reported recently in “The St. Petersburg Times,” the county has bought – or is in the process of buying – 170 foreclosed properties within its borders. It plans to spend millions for property preservation services and foreclosure contractors to rehabilitate those homes, not only helping to save neighborhoods, but also giving the biggest business opportunity in the state to mortgage field service companies.
There is no doubt that Florida was one of the hardest-hit states by the housing crash of the past few years. Even now, one in four of all mortgages in the Sunshine State are either past due or in the foreclosure process. That’s why, back in March, Pasco County received almost twenty million dollars in Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to help deal with the record number of foreclosures.
While many other local governments really haven’t known what to do with the money, Pasco immediately put it towards buying up these homes, fixing them up and reselling them. The property preservation specialists and contractors have gotten four and a half million dollars of that money to fix up the homes that the county bought – nearly doubling many of the appraised property values in the process.
Real estate investors have been watching what the county has been doing – and are jumping into action. More foreclosed homes are being bought by these investors, who bankroll fixing up the properties and getting them back on the market for a profitable resale. As a result, home prices have been holding steady over the past eight months.
It’s clear that buying and fixing up foreclosed properties is good business – not just for a property preservation company, but for the real estate market, the residents and the overall economy. It’s an effective solution to what will be an ongoing problem for quite some time not only in Florida, but all across the country.
For those interested in finding out how to start a property preservation company, one resource is the nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, which is currently training new franchisees all across the country.
Frank and Scott Patrick, brothers who have years of experience in the property preservation field, have already trained many newcomers to the business with great success. The inside knowledge they have of such complex issues as licensing, insurance and how to best deal with REO sellers to build good word-of-mouth, is invaluable to anyone wishing to enter this lucrative field. To find out more, visit www.REOResQ.com for all the details.
About the Author
Frank Patrick began his real estate career in 2000 after a 12-year stint in corporate America as a sales manager. As a new real estate agent Frank knew that he wanted to find a niche within the real estate industry. After months of research Frank decided to specialize in REO, an acronym for bank owned foreclosed homes. Frank quickly became one of the top REO agents in the nation averaging over 100 transactions per year for the last 8 years. In 2007 Frank’s production soared to over 214 sales. In 2004 Frank and his brother Scott Patrick started a property preservation company to offer maintenance and repair services to banks with foreclosed homes. Frank’s solid understanding of the REO industry and Scott’s 20+ years in the construction business was a recipe for success. This year their property preservation business is on track to gross over one million dollars in revenue. Today Frank manages his REO Real Estate Brokerage, REO Renegades an REO agent training business, his trade association The American Society of REO Specialists and is developing a national Franchise Property Preservation company, REO ResQ. For more information please visit http://www.REORESQ.com
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