Professional investors move into flipping foreclosed homes

[n2doc]

Squeezing out amateurs, private equity funds and wealthy individuals are buying distressed properties at public auctions, refurbishing them and selling them for quick profits.

By Walter Hamilton and Alejandro Lazo
Los Angeles Times
August 20, 2010
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Hoping there are big profits to be made in the aftermath of California's housing collapse, professional investors are flocking to the business of buying foreclosed homes at distressed prices.

The investors, primarily private equity funds and groups of wealthy individuals, purchase the homes at public auctions, which are held daily on the steps of local courthouses. They refurbish the properties and try to sell them for quick profits.

Not long ago, the typical home flipper was an amateur tapping a home equity line or savings for an investment property. But professionals have rushed in, partly because of sparse investment opportunities elsewhere.

"In crisis there's opportunity," said Rick Hudson, president of investment firm Prosperity Group Real Estate in Irvine. "Right now there's huge opportunity with flipping houses."

Closely watched gauges of professional buying have surged over the last two years.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-homes-investors-20100820,0,7168785.story

The Vultures always get theirs....

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Its not all a bad thing

Take a dilapidated house, fixing it up so it can sell in a very competitive market is a good thing in many ways.