Being discourage by lender

[Jose Silva]

Hello everyone! I am new to this site and already am learning a lot! Anyways, I emailed a friend of mine who is a loan broker for an independent firm. He has over 20 years in the field so i thought i would ask a couple of questions. I am posting his response. My question was about REOs and the potential for flipping .

"Almost all REO properties offer it only to people that are going to live in it for the first couple weeks .Investors can’t bid on them. I used to flip (buy, fix and sell) properties fairly regularly. But the last couple of years dozens if not hundreds of groups of investors have planted their seed. They have complete teams in place that can do any repair (electrical, plumbing, roofs etc.) fast and move on to the next one. They work on small profit margins. I know one local group that typically buys up to 30 homes a month. Most importantly it’s all cash purchases. Cash is King. The seller doesn’t want to wait around for financing or repair requirements. It is not the glamorous fast cash transaction you see on TV or hear about on the radio. It’s big business by professionals. That’s all they do. Is it possible sure, but the odds are against you being able to compete with these groups unless you're in it full time. I’ve seen a lot more people lose money (and time) than make it. Like they always say if it looks too good to be true , it probably is!"

I know that is just his opinion but it does concern me a bit since i do see many hand-written signs in our area advertizing to buy houses in any condition (a tactic that is discussed in this website). Am I too late in the game ? Thank to all who read this and even more thanks to those who respond.

JS