Bulk sales of foreclosed homes begin soon.

[Nick Gromicko]

The government is starting to shed foreclosed, single-family homes it ownsby selling them in bulk to investors. Officials, however, are saying only that test sales will occur "in the near-term" with a focus on the areas hardest hit by foreclosures. The government typically sells foreclosed properties one at a time, but officials specifically asked for ways to move homes in bulk because of the size of the backlog. Nationwide, the 83,000 homes currently up for sale and potential conversion into rental units are among more than 200,000 foreclosures of all kinds that the government holds, apparently making it the nation's largest owner of foreclosed properties. The 200,000 is almost a third of foreclosed properties across the nation. Moving the backlog would get them off the books of the Federal Housing Administration.

[Linas Dapkus]

I spoke with a realtor about this the other day that is working with several investment groups that will be purchasing lots of these properties. There are also renovation contractors that a seeking 203K inspectors for these properties.They are requiring insurance and will provide their software for inspectors.