I came across an interesting report about real estate flipping last week. The Palm Beach Post writes, “… today’s flippers are erudite capitalists who could usher in positive change by buying dilapidated and abandoned homes, patching them up and selling them for a market-bearable price, experts say… Realtor Robert Littman, who represents Pudlit Joint Venture, said the company is made up of a “couple” of investors who are willing to do the job that banks aren’t - cleaning, re-roofing and replacing air condensers that disappear into the night… Even today, (an investor) and his sort are called “vultures” for picking at the bones of the real estate market.”
"This is a very difficult job," Littman said. "You could go down to the courthouse and look at hundreds of properties and then only buy two."
Foreclosures in Palm Beach County grew substantially in August, with 4,150 receiving a foreclosure filing, a 110 percent increase from the same time the previous year.
St. Lucie County had 1,649 filings in August, up 57 percent from a year ago. Martin County, with 248 foreclosures, was up 8 percent from August 2008.
Curtis Lowe, president of the Realtors Association of St. Lucie, said he's also seen an increase in investment buys on the Treasure Coast. He had a client "more than happy" to pay the asking price on a flipped home because it was move-in ready.
Buyer beware: along with the increase in activity, many flippers have gone bogus already. These are your investors who purchase a rundown house, but only have slapdash renovations done. And they seek out inflated house appraisals. Buyers, without enough market advice, remain vulnerable.
The majority of these newly purchased properties won’t be selling in the market anytime soon – most will actually hold them, and have them rented instead. It’s all about gauging how the market will fair in the next few months.
Andy Denton is the COO of www.Realty.com. Realty.com is a real estate search portal, dedicated to connecting home buyers and sellers to trusting real estate services. Follow the Realty.com blog for up to date housing news and trends. And monitor local mortgage rates at RealtyGadget.com.
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