Real Estate Owned or REO refers to properties owned by banks after going through the foreclosure process.

Foreclosed houses are real estate properties that have been foreclosed by the lending companies or the government because of the failure of the owner to pay their loans or mortgages.

The opportunity to buy a property below the current market value is one advantage of buying an REO property.

REO homes are being auctioned more frequently .The bidders have to be careful in bidding these the properties. These bidders must properly analyze the properties and check their maintenance costs involved in them before going for final bid.

You may prefer to purchase a property owned by lenders to take advantage of getting the property below the current market value.

In order to get the properties off their hands quickly, the bank will likely to accept any offer they receive.

Banks will want to give the REO's they have to avoid losing more money in keeping those properties. This is where the Real Estate Investors come in. They take advantage of the situation and give an offer they know the bank will accept.

It's no surprise that the foreclosure market is at an all time high as it seems that more and more properties continue to face home foreclosure. Because of this increased volume over the past few years and the resulting opportunities the need for a real estate investing guide in foreclosures is tremendous.