Web sites streamline foreclosure

Part 2: Managing for a real estate downturn



During the last wave of foreclosures in the late '80s, veteran real estate investor Alexis McGee often called banks to inquire about foreclosed properties and found that no one knew anything about the properties. There was no network in place for the banks to keep track of their foreclosed assets and it took weeks for them to locate a property they owned.



At that time, banks lacked efficient processes to track and sell the properties at the best possible price, so many ended up selling properties for low amounts in a frenzy to get rid of them.

McGee and others in the foreclosure business now anticipate an increase in foreclosures over the next year due to rising interest rates and slowing home-price appreciation. But McGee doesn't expect banks to be as desperate to unload their properties as they were in the 80s when foreclosures were rampant.



"I don't think we're going to see a firesale this time," said McGee, president of Foreclosures.com, a real estate investment advisory company that focuses on distressed properties. Banks are delegating their real estate assets more efficiently today, putting them on the market faster and selling at prices that nearly match the value



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