Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
Originally posted by: IGBT
..property flippers are a pariah to the realestate community. Require 5 year owner occupancy to get rid of em.
Flippers take beat-up property and remodel it. They aren't pariahs, they preform a service. It's the speculators, like the guy from the OP, who buy houses solely in hope of turning them around for profit in a booming market that are the pariahs.
Many flippers do nothing but slap a veneer on the problems and put "fixes" in at bottom-rate prices to maximize revenue. They make profit by doing this in a never-ending ponzi scheme. Another part of the problem is that they "fix" homes out of alignment with the neighborhood, bringing more problems.
In most cases they perform a decent service (albeit, overpriced), but when a period like this hits, they too often do nothing but destroy value.
As far as the guy goes, I hope that even one of the mortgages has recourse. I'd love to see a bank take everything he has.