The AmeriPath EB-5 investor business model is a viable and necessary component for the recovery of the housing market in Florida and other US States. The investment program provides a crucial link between the bridge loan funding source for purchasers and renovators of distressed housing and the creation of more buyer demand by enhancing buyers’ credit scores and eligibility for bank mortgage financing.
The residential real estate market in America has been deeply depressed since 2008 and shows no sign of improvement in the short term. Average property values have typically dropped 50% or more since 2007. Tens of thousands of people have experienced significant damage to their credit, and mortgages are very limited and often highly restrictive for the purchase of residential real estate.
As an example, the hardest hit residential real estate markets in Florida lie in Targeted Economic Areas (TEA's), where the largest numbers of foreclosed properties and people with damaged credit exist. Most of these foreclosed houses remain unoccupied, are often in disrepair and are held by banks in their Real Estate Owned (REO) departments. They are normally available for purchase at prices substantially below current fair market values. Banks are desperate to sell these properties and remove them from their balance sheets; however, there is a scarcity of capital available to finance these purchases since commercial banks will not lend money to purchase foreclosure properties, and most homeowners do not have sufficient cash to make such purchases and complete the refurbishment.
Having identified an exciting opportunity for EB-5 investors to act as Private Mortgage Lenders, the company has incorporated this opportunity into their unique AmeriPath Visa program, enabling each visa applicant to generate an excellent investment return of typically 8% per annum.
There are a large number of small, independent, entrepreneurial businesses that purchase these r eo houses, renovate them, and then resell them for a profit. These real estate entrepreneurs ( REE's ) often lack sufficient capital to purchase and renovate these houses and there is a growing backlog of available foreclosed properties (and more on the way) since there is no readily available source of funding available from the banks. REE's do not qualify for traditional bank mortgage loans and therefore a significant market opportunity exists for investors, acting as private mortgage lenders, to provide this much needed funding to REE's and to employ the many skilled trade workers necessary to conduct the refurbishment of these properties. The number of foreclosed homes available in Florida for purchase and refurbishment is in the tens of thousands, and countrywide it can be counted in the millions and demand by REE's for these short term first mortgage loans is massive.
Operating through Bridgewell Capital LLC, a group company which specialises in offering short term bridging finance and is fully licensed, AmeriPath is able to provide this unique opportunity to their EB-5 Visa applicants.