Purchasing REO's or Preforeclosures for flips/rentals

[Brandon Kanakis]

Does anyone have any experience purchasing REO's or preforclosures in Virginia for flips or to use a rentals? Are there any gotcha's I need to be aware of either from a legal perspective or financial perspective? It seems like you can acquire properties cheaper, generally in decent condition and if it is a preforeclosure you are actually helping people out in a financially difficult time by preventing them from having to declare bankruptcy.