LoanMarket.net - California's Largest Marketplace for Whole Loans

Early entrants are rushing into the business of facilitating the trade of distressed residential real-estate debt, as the number of troubled real estate loans continues to grow. While the space remains largely in its infancy, the firms trying to build a market for note trading say they hope the current crisis can help spur a more transparent marketplace for buying and selling whole loans.

One such outfit, Irvine, Calif.-based LoanMarket.NET, said Tuesday that it had launched its online marketplace for buying and selling real estate-secured note investments.

“The market for buying individual mortgage notes from originating lenders has traditionally been available only to investors such as Wall Street investment banks, large hedge funds, and regional banks,” said LoanMarket.NET founder and president Jeff Freud, a 20-year real estate and mortgage industry veteran.

“Now small institutions and sophisticated individual investors, such as those who have traditionally invested in other debt instruments, can gain access to these income-generating notes, collecting principal and interest payments just as the former lender did for the remaining term of the loan or until a refinance or sale occurs.”

The new website uses slick technology to help investors understand what they’re purchasing, including providing a current market value (CMV) estimate and a photo of the underlying property pulled within 14 days of posting, the company says. Any real estate notes listed for sale on the site also include all...      read full article