Imagine making as much as $10,000 a week cleaning homes.

Okay, it isn’t the kind of housecleaning you normally think of – where you dust and vacuum for an hour and call it a day. It’s all about cleaning out foreclosed homes – what’s called property preservation or mortgage field services – and some newbies to the field have found amazing success in recent years. Foreclosures, as you probably already know, are rampant in the U.S. – and show no signs of slowing down.

Here are 6 reasons why property preservation will continue to be the biggest foreclosure business opportunity around – and will grow even faster in the months to come.

1) It’s cheap and fast to get into the business.

If you get expert training from people who know the ins and outs of the business, you can start doing foreclosure trash-outs in as few as two weeks. In addition, you’ll only need a truck and some basic tools to begin your business.

2) The banks have a huge shadow inventory of foreclosed homes.

Housing experts know that the banks and other REO sellers have a massive amount of homes they still haven’t formally processed as foreclosures. In Las Vegas, the Bank of America is currently trying to decide what to do with the 6000 homes they have yet to put on the market and that will require property preservation services. The number of current property preservation companies will not be able to handle the extra load.

3) You can work as much – and make as much money – as you are willing.

If you live near a high-foreclosure area, you will find yourself in immediate demand if you establish yourself as a professional, responsible property preservation company. That comes from having the proper training – and once the national master contractors who hire mortgage field service companies are aware of your reputation, you could find yourself working from Sunday through Saturday if you want, just to handle all the properties that require servicing.

4) The foreclosure rate is about to get higher.

In addition to the shadow inventory, the amount of new foreclosures is going to continue to skyrocket. Because of continued unemployment, more homeowners are getting behind in payments. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has determined that over a third of the mortgages it backs are in default. That’s an ominous sign.

5) The real estate market is not recovering.

As housing prices continue to sag, more and more homeowners find themselves “underwater” (owing more than on their home than it is now worth), meaning they can’t sell or refinance. That motivates them to simply walk away from the property and allow the bank to foreclose.

6) It’s easy work.

Once you learn the basics from a trained professional, foreclosure trash-outs are easy – and you can also hire and train additional crews to do your work for you and expand your business quickly.

What makes all the difference is having the proper training to successfully start a property preservation business. Matters of licensing, insurance and how to deal with financial institutions and master contractors are critical, as well as meeting their expectations when they hire you for a job. They want property preservation specialists who already know what to do and how to do it.

One of the leading companies in the property preservation industry, REO ResQ™, is run by property preservation experts Frank and Scott Patrick. They’ve already trained many franchisees and launched incredibly successful property preservation careers for people who had never done that kind of work before.

Visit www.REOResQ.com for more on this big business opportunity.

At the beginning of 2010, the unemployment outlook continues to be bleak – 85,000 more jobs were lost in December of 2009 and the joblessness rate won’t budge below 10%. Not only that, but 661,000 Americans just plain gave up looking for work at all.

Working-age men, however, have been hit hardest of all. Economists have termed this recession a “mancession,” because figures state that the jobless rate for this group is closer to 20% – with just about one out of five males 25-54 unemployed.

The good news is that there are still business opportunities out there, for those willing to give a new skill category a shot. And one of the hottest job categories right now is property preservation.

Property preservation – also known as mortgage field services – involves performing foreclosure trash outs, repairs and doing ongoing maintenance, and is truly the biggest business opportunity in this climate of ever-increasing home foreclosures.

The foreclosure situation, like the unemployment problem, is not expected to improve soon. As a matter of fact, the rising joblessness is helping to continue to fuel foreclosures – experts predict over 10 million of them over the next 2 years, an incredibly high figure.

When a home is hit with foreclosure, the ownership reverts to the bank or financial institution which holds the unpaid mortgage. These kinds of home are frequently left in horrible shape – and the banks must hire companies to perform what are called “trash outs” to clean out the homes, which are often still filled with the previous homeowner’s possessions. In addition, homes must be rekeyed and secured, so no vandalism will take place, and certain maintenance, such as winterization and pool draining and covering, must be performed to keep the homes safe and habitable.

Property preservation work is essential to banks and financial institutions, as it allows them to resell the homes as REO properties, currently one of the biggest-selling sectors of the real estate business. Many start-ups in the mortgage field services industry have found themselves working Monday through Saturday, 12 hours a day, trying to keep up with the demand – and finding themselves making up to $60,000 a month.

$60,000 a month – especially in this economy – is certainly an amazing number. And that’s because the need for property preservation companies is so great.

One nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, run by property preservation pros Frank and Scott Patrick, is helping entrepreneurs all across the country start up and successfully operate property preservation franchises. With their years of experience, not only are the brothers Patrick able to give new franchisees inside knowledge of how to jump start a property preservation company, but they also can fully train them in just two weeks, so the new franchisee can begin making money in less than a month. A lot of expensive equipment is not required – just a truck and some common tools get the job done.

In difficult times such as these, an incredible business opportunity like property preservation should be considered. Find out more at www.REOResQ.com.

Property preservation – performing foreclosure trash outs, repairs and doing ongoing maintenance – had an incredible year in 2009. The second year in a row of historic foreclosure highs meant even new field service companies could earn over $10,000 a week.

In 2010, a year in which the overall American jobs picture is expected to still be bleak, property preservation companies will be busier – and more profitable – than ever. In addition to the continuing escalation of foreclosures, the beginnings of the so-called “shadow inventory” of vacant homes that have yet to be listed for sale or even acknowledged as foreclosures will be put on the market.

This shadow inventory has been estimated at anywhere from 1.7 million homes to as high as 7 million. If it is actually 7 million, that would be over twice as many REO homes that require foreclosure clean outs as were recorded in all of 2009.

The problem of vacant homes in otherwise normal neighborhoods is a big one and growing by leaps and bounds. In addition to these empty untended homes becoming eyesores, thanks to uncared-for lawns, broken windows and graffiti, they also pose public health dangers. Abandoned pools breed mosquitoes that carry disease; rats can overwhelm a vacant property; and transients can just move in with no fear of getting thrown out.

That’s why, more and more, local communities and governments have been demanding property preservation companies be hired to handle these vacant houses – and why, more and more, property preservation will continue to be the biggest foreclosure business opportunity in 2010. The problem these empty homes present can no longer be ignored – and the mortgage companies in charge of them will be forced to take care of them by government and public pressure.

Property preservation is already an incredibly lucrative business for those who know what they’re doing. One nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, begun about a year ago by foreclosure experts Frank and Scott Patrick, has been training those who want to start a property preservation company in the special demands of this business opportunity. They provide such inside knowledge as what licenses and insurance is required, how to get started, and how to deal with the master contracting companies that often hire property preservation companies.

The Patrick brothers know what they’re doing – between them, they have almost 20 years of experience in the field. They only need a couple of weeks to fully train their new franchisees, so they can get to work making money in the property preservation field ASAP. One couple that began a Las Vegas field services company found themselves grossing almost $90,000 in one month; another Missouri couple made almost $10,000 in one week. And, before they received their property preservation training from REO ResQ™, they had had no experience in the profession.

Costs are fairly minimal if you’re going to start a property preservation company – and your services are definitely in demand in this field. Find out more about the property preservation opportunity at REOResQ.com.

As more and more foreclosed homes are left vacant and in bureaucratic limbo, more and more neighborhoods and communities all across America are facing the health, safety and social hazards presented by these unsecured, uncared-for properties, which continue to deteriorate.

Property preservation companies are traditionally called in when these homes are classified as REO (Real Estate Owned) properties, in order to prepare them for resale on the real estate market. These mortgage field service businesses will perform a foreclosure clean out, make necessary repairs, do the landscaping and also carry out necessary maintenance.

The incredible overload of foreclosed and abandoned houses should make property preservation the biggest business opportunity around. As it is, contractors who specialize in this niche are incredibly overloaded with work and making a lucrative living while other occupations suffer at the hands of the currently-dismal economy. Still, the fact is that more houses need immediate tending to prevent neighborhoods from falling into potential disarray – and the Federal Government has been slow to do anything about it.

That’s why Aurora, Colorado is the latest local government to try and act on this growing dilemma.

In April of 2009, the Aurora City Council passed a foreclosure ordinance that charged lenders to register foreclosed properties. The initial fee is $50, but that amount increases by $150 for every 90 days the lender fails to register the property. Any unpaid fees are simply added to the tax bill for the property – in addition to a city and council processing fee of 26.5 percent of the amount owed.

That’s meant a bonanza for the city – and much-needed help for local neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures in recent years. In the past five months, the new law has created almost $100,000 in new revenues in the city from the over 1500 foreclosed properties registered to date. Not only that, but Neighborhood Services Department staff says property preservation services have been much more in evidence.

“Our code officers report back to us that they feel like the vacant properties that they see on the street every day tend to be a little bit better maintained,” declared Neighborhood Services worker Jeff Hancock during a presentation in November.

As more and more counties and communities like Aurora work to fix the foreclosure problem, property preservation experts will be more in demand than they already are, truly making it the biggest foreclosure business opportunity available.

For those interested in finding out how to start a property preservation company, one resource is the nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, which is currently training new franchisees all across the country.

Frank and Scott Patrick, brothers who have years of experience in the property preservation field, have already trained many newcomers to the business with great success. The inside knowledge they have of such complex issues as licensing, insurance and how to best deal with REO sellers to build good word-of-mouth, is invaluable to anyone wishing to enter this lucrative field. To find out more, visit www.REOResQ.com for all the details.

The slow foreclosure process has plagued many areas across America. An abundance of vacant homes are quickly turning into safety hazards and eyesores – and also severely taking down property values. Property preservation companies, specialists in foreclosure trash outs and maintenance, routinely clean up and secure these unoccupied properties, but, often, no one is employed to perform this vital service and neighboring residents are left to watch the area deteriorate.

Enter Pasco County in Florida, located along the Gulf Coast in Florida. As reported recently in “The St. Petersburg Times,” the county has bought – or is in the process of buying – 170 foreclosed properties within its borders. It plans to spend millions for property preservation services and foreclosure contractors to rehabilitate those homes, not only helping to save neighborhoods, but also giving the biggest business opportunity in the state to mortgage field service companies.

There is no doubt that Florida was one of the hardest-hit states by the housing crash of the past few years. Even now, one in four of all mortgages in the Sunshine State are either past due or in the foreclosure process. That’s why, back in March, Pasco County received almost twenty million dollars in Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to help deal with the record number of foreclosures.

While many other local governments really haven’t known what to do with the money, Pasco immediately put it towards buying up these homes, fixing them up and reselling them. The property preservation specialists and contractors have gotten four and a half million dollars of that money to fix up the homes that the county bought – nearly doubling many of the appraised property values in the process.
Real estate investors have been watching what the county has been doing – and are jumping into action. More foreclosed homes are being bought by these investors, who bankroll fixing up the properties and getting them back on the market for a profitable resale. As a result, home prices have been holding steady over the past eight months.

It’s clear that buying and fixing up foreclosed properties is good business – not just for a property preservation company, but for the real estate market, the residents and the overall economy. It’s an effective solution to what will be an ongoing problem for quite some time not only in Florida, but all across the country.

For those interested in finding out how to start a property preservation company, one resource is the nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, which is currently training new franchisees all across the country.

Frank and Scott Patrick, brothers who have years of experience in the property preservation field, have already trained many newcomers to the business with great success. The inside knowledge they have of such complex issues as licensing, insurance and how to best deal with REO sellers to build good word-of-mouth, is invaluable to anyone wishing to enter this lucrative field. To find out more, visit www.REOResQ.com for all the details.

A national conference on property preservation was held in Washington D.C. in early November – and it was clear that government is very aware of the growing need to clean out and service foreclosure properties quickly and efficiently. Foreclosures are on track for another record-setting year and skyrocketing unemployment is sure to create even more distressed properties.

At one panel discussion, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan group that represents cities with populations of over 30,000, sent out an industry warning that unemployment – and foreclosures – will continue to soar in 2010, causing more and more distressed properties to require field services, in addition to the many homes already in this situation. Some municipalities may experience unemployment as high as 15%, according to the organization – and homeowners simply won’t be able to keep up with their mortgages.

Meanwhile, HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is spearheading new ways of speeding up the servicing of foreclosure properties so homes don’t fall into complete disrepair and bring down entire neighborhoods with them. This will enable property preservation companies, as well as other firms that deal with foreclosures, to quickly reclaim expenses from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Representatives from HUD said that servicers should take the risk and get any necessary work done on the property, without submitting an approved bid first. HUD is also going to make the entire expense submission process electronic with the release of a massive new computer program, the P260. That program is expected to launch in 2010.

With government agencies finally paying attention to the growing need for fast and effective foreclosure field services to prevent a massive pile-up of distressed properties, it’s clear that property preservation continues to be the biggest foreclosure business opportunity in this tough economic time.

For those interested in finding out how to start a property preservation company, one resource is the nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, which is currently training new franchisees all across the country.

Frank and Scott Patrick, brothers who have years of experience in the property preservation field, have already trained many newcomers to the business with great success. The inside knowledge they have of such complex issues as licensing, insurance and how to best deal with REO sellers to build good word-of-mouth, is invaluable to anyone wishing to enter this lucrative field. To find out more, visit www.REOResQ.com for all the details.

As foreclosures continue to mount and unemployment continues to increase, it’s only natural that the media would begin to focus on the property preservation business opportunity. It’s one of the few sectors where business is booming, so more and more people are interested in finding out more about it.

For example, in an article from September 20th, “The News and Record of Greensboro” newspaper zeroed in on several North Carolina foreclosure trash out businesses, including Junk King, run by Matt and Drew Hambright, and Junkyard Dogz, operated by Thad Loftin.

In 2005, when Loftin began his business, he went to ask a local bank about foreclosed homes in the area that might need cleaning out. He was told there was usually only about one foreclosure per year. 2009 is a totally different story – with 343 foreclosures in one month alone in his area. The Hambright brothers have a similar story. They began by cleaning the junk from new construction sites – now, at least a third of their business is foreclosure trash outs.

The other property preservation article that will be mentioned here can be found in a very unlikely place – Salon.com, a liberal political website that’s been around almost as long as the World Wide Web itself.

Usually on Salon, you mostly find articles boosting Obama and bashing the right wing – but they’re currently running a series entitled “Pinched,” about how people are making ends meet during the recession. In this case, author Cindy Reid has written about her experiences performing foreclosure trash outs in a piece entitled, “What’s Left Behind.”

Seems her boyfriend runs a property preservation company in South Carolina – and Cindy, out of work, decided to start working alongside him. She relates how the toll of the increasing workload as the foreclosure rate started to mushroom began to impact their relationship.

“At the beginning, Joe and I were oh-so-polite to each other on the job. He gave me the easiest tasks, and I was so eager to please that I would knock myself out making sure the bathroom was the cleanest bathroom in America…But the good manners wore away as the housing market meltdown tripled our workload. By summer we were openly yelling at each other.”

Funny thing though. Cindy tried to change careers – then found she liked her old one too much!

“At one point I left the repo field and took a “good” professional job. But I missed the work. I missed pulling up to a house and wondering what was inside. I missed the physical labor. I missed the camaraderie of the crew and the uncontrollable laughter that rises when you are sweat-soaked and exhausted and the funniest thing you have ever seen is someone spilling used motor oil all over their clothes. Even if the person is you.”

If there’s anything that the tale of two Carolinas tells us, it’s that property preservation is booming all across the country – and it’s worth exploring as an alternate career in these bad economic times.

How to get started? A new nationwide franchise, REO ResQ™, helps you learn more about all the ins and outs of foreclosure trash outs so you can begin earning money in this lucrative field in a matter of weeks. Find out more at www.REORESQ.com.

A Growing Problem for Cities: Overgrown Lawns of REO Homes

Agents and brokers for REO (Real Estate Owned) homes – unoccupied homes where the owners have been evicted due to mortgage default – are finding that if they don’t employ professional mortgage field service companies to deal with the outside as well as the inside of a property, the city may be sending them a pretty steep bill for lawn care. Hint: it’s going to cost a lot more than hiring a teenager for $5 an hour to mow the lawn!

As a matter of fact, in some Illinois towns, it’s costing up to 25 times that – as one homeowner found to his dismay in Buffalo Grove. No, his home isn’t in foreclosure – he just doesn’t like to mow his back yard, only the front. One day, however, he arrived home to find that the back yard was cut down to size as well without his knowledge – and a bill from the city soon arrived in his mailbox for $125 for getting the job done.

The historic number of foreclosures all across the country has meant a rising number of homes in ordinary Middle American neighborhoods just aren’t being cared for. It takes weeks to process a property in default and in the interim, often no one takes responsibility for tending or performing what’s called a “trash-out” of the home.

It’s bad enough when the inside of a house is a disaster – but when the exterior clearly becomes an eyesore, property values fall even further and the community becomes alarmed.

Glen Kelman, CEO of RedFin, an online home brokerage website, observed in a recent ABC story, “It’s a jungle out there. There’s all sorts of land in disrepair and spores from weeds blown over – people get huffy about it.” Untended lawns and gardens are also potential fire and health hazards as well as conducive to mosquito infestation.

That’s why cities such as Canton, Ohio have actually passed ordinances to deal with the increasing problem. Canton spent $250,000 on mowing lawns in 2008 – so, this past June, they began to fine property holders up to $250 if they didn’t take of their overgrown grass.

Banks and lending institutions, according to Canton city councilman Greg Hawk, have begun to be more responsible to caring for homes with the threat of facing these kinds of fines hanging over their heads. By hiring a trained property preservation company early enough in the foreclosure process, they have the opportunity to avoid exorbitant fees and the wrath of the local community. These mortgage field service businesses will do an initial clean out of the foreclosure property, basic repairs as directed and will also handle ongoing maintenance like lawn and pool care. Employing these companies early enough in the process reduces the amount of problems down the line for banks and lenders who want to put these foreclosures back on the market as soon as possible.

Otherwise, you end up with the experience of Tony Grandt, an owner of a lawn mowing service, who says it’s not uncommon to arrive at a lot with grass between 2 and 4 feet tall – sometimes even higher!

The boom in property preservation business opportunity has prompted the formation of REO ResQ™ , the first nationwide franchise focused on foreclosure field services. REO ResQ™, founded by property preservation experts Frank and Scott Patrick, trains its franchisees in the unique demands of this suddenly red-hot industry and offers their services to REO Sellers, agents and brokers through their website at www.REORESQ.com. In an economic age where unemployment is breaking the double-digit barrier, this is one sector that is showing nothing but incredible growth.

How Foreclosure Contractors Make the Difference in the REO Marketplace

Knowledgeable real estate experts know that foreclosed properties are taking a long time to finally making their way back on the market – to transition to REO (Real Estate Owned) listings. Back in February, RealtyTrac.com estimated that up to a shocking 70% of foreclosures still weren’t on the MLS yet.

One large reason for the delay? Because of the explosion of the number of foreclosures in recent months, banks can’t keep up with processing the individual properties. That means they sit untended, unsecured and unoccupied for longer periods of time – leaving these homes open to vandalism, threat and damage.

That means that, by the time property preservation companies are finally called in, there’s more much more substantial rehab work to be done on these homes. The lawn is usually a disaster, the plumbing can need major repairs and there is probably rotting food in the refrigerator.

Ideally, the “trash-out” of foreclosures should be accomplished as soon as possible to ensure these properties don’t deteriorate to a point where the house becomes unsafe and they’re unsuitable for market. The recent foreclosure moratoriums made that process difficult for many properties – and now, that the moratoriums are over, there is a huge backlog of foreclosures to process.

REO ResQ™, a new nationwide franchise founded by property preservation experts Frank and Scott Patrick, is training new franchisees all across the country to try and meet the growing demand for skilled and experienced mortgage field services companies. In cities like Orlando, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona, foreclosures are huge – and so is the opportunity for contractors entering the property preservation arena.

One couple trained by the Patricks, Matt and Carrie Singleton, moved to Las Vegas to take advantage of the huge REO market there – and, after less than six months of operating a foreclosure clean-out business there, found themselves making $89,000 in revenues in one month. And this was without having any prior contacts or working relationships in the city before relocating there.

To get a real sense of what’s involved in cleaning out a foreclosure, a video produced by a Southern California TV station posted at http://rocktrueblood.blogspot.com/2009/02/trash-out-of-foreclosed-homes.html shows the process well. It’s amazing to watch this video and see just what people leave behind before they exit a home. You’ll hear about an urn with a relative’s ashes that was found by the clean out crew, among other very personal items – children’s toys, photo albums, etc. You’ll also see the incredible array of items of value left in the home – computers, high-priced appliances, and furniture.

With foreclosure sales beginning to boom, becoming a property preservation contractor is clearly a good business move in an uncertain economic time. And for banks, lenders, asset managers and REO agents, using a dependable, trustworthy and properly-trained contractor, such as a franchisees of REO ResQ™, is the quick way to restore “curb appeal” to foreclosures and prepare them for the market.

Find out more about the REO RESQ™ franchise at www.REORESQ.com

$89,000 Revenues in One Month – One Couple’s Amazing Story

It hasn’t been a good economic time for most Americans. And Matt and Carrie Singleton were certainly no exception.

They had always run their own businesses – and for three years, they built commercial freezers for food distribution centers. They were doing fine. Then gas prices climbed – and the stock market crashed.

That double play stopped Matt and Carrie’s business right in the tracks in early 2008. Suddenly no one was building anything anymore. The couple had no other source of income – and no prospects.

Matt reacted as any guy might with a little money in the bank – he went fishing. But with savings dwindling and the economy still in shock, the couple knew they needed to do something. But in that bleak business climate – what?

Luckily, Matt went over one day that summer to help his friend Scott Patrick fix a roof leak. At that point, Matt had no idea what “property preservation” was, let alone that it was a business. Scott told him about the boom in foreclosures and how companies were desperately needed to help “trash-out” vacant REO (Real Estate Owned) homes in order to get them ready for market.

Not only that, but Scott told Matt how he and his brother Frank, a top REO expert, were starting a franchise business, “REO RESQ™,” that trained contractors to be property preservation professionals. Matt immediately asked for that training – and that August, he and his wife decided to move to Las Vegas, one of the biggest foreclosure markets in America at the moment.

They drove their 5^th Wheeler trailer home to Vegas, set up at the RV park and got to work. They didn’t know anyone in Nevada, didn’t know anyone besides Scott and Frank in property preservation and didn’t know anyone in the REO industry. “We had a lot of faith – we prayed a lot,” says Carrie.

They started slowly, but their expert training paid off. Gradually they built their new business, New Age Asset Management, into a trusted provider of foreclosure field services. Without ever having to open a line of credit or borrow a dime, they continued to grow to the point where they are now working with ten different companies – and in May, they grossed an amazing $89,000 in one month.

Not the kind of success story you hear much in these times!

But this sudden burst of income hasn’t spoiled the Singletons. They’re still working out of their trailer in the Vegas RV park! Right now, they’re too busy to move anywhere else.

The official launch of REO RESQ™” also came about in May – and now the Patrick brothers are busy training other franchisees all across the country so they can have the opportunity to provide expert property preservation services to master contractors and REO sellers. The Patricks know what it takes to get the job done – the Singletons are living proof of that.

Find out more about the REO RESQ™ franchise at www.REORESQ.com.