[quote=SD Realtor]JP that is what I think has bugged me and does bug me about the entire thread and premise.
Before I forget, 2012 Galveston is pending in Baypark and BAC did a cheapo kitchen and part of the home and left the rest of it. The home went to trsutee sale for 450k in December and none of us touched it at auction. BAC went in and did some work and it is now pending at 596k.
Okay so back to my other thoughts which are the anger you guys have at flippers is kind of a microcosm of the anger in the country today. It is an anger of this guy has what I want so he should not be allowed to do what he wants so I can get what I want. That scares me.
Here is an inherently crappy crappy system, totally propped up by govt and taxpayer money working hand in hand with Wall St. We all agree on that correct? Constraining inventory, holding back properties, renegotiating mortgages to people who never should have been allowed to buy in the first place and who even TODAY cannot afford the home they live in, and basically punishing the rest of us correct? I mean we all do see eye to eye on that and I think we all know and believe this is the REAL cause of why none of us can buy a home at a decent price.
Now you have a small group of people who go out, and whether they buy through trustee sale or on the market, they take the risk and buy a home to flip. They put their money on the line, their time, and they do it. They pay HEFTY taxes on the profit, they are at risk bigtime, and yes they take the homes. They are playing within the system, and they are indeed taking advantage of the market conditions.
Yet the rage directed at them compared to the institutionalized almost criminal system to me seems…. out of whack. I guess I keep coming back to the same thing where you and CAR CAN BUY AT TRUSTEE SALES. Why don’t you? Jim Klinge has a system where he is helping buyers to do this. You guys put so much time and energy into looking for a home, yet have you exhausted all the resources? It seems to me no you have not. You certainly have the energy to point out the details of various properties, even you yourself spend plenty of time tracking them.
Lets not forget alot of these same flippers are exposed and will be in trouble when the market turns. Just a matter of time. Regardless of whether it is a trustee flipper or a resale flipper they will be the first to be exposed and they will be the first to get hammered and have to lower the price. Times are good for them now but nothing is permanent.
So coming full circle I fully understand your and CARs anger at the market conditions.
Yes JP if you want me to admit that the flippers who probably represent less then 5% of total sales in the county are 100% responsible for providing price support. If that is what you honestly believe then fine you can believe it.[/quote]
SDR,
Please understand that the vast majority of my anger is directed at the govt and the lenders (who, I believe, are following orders from the govt). It’s just that *given the market that is made by the govt,* the flippers are indeed making it worse.
I would LOVE to buy at the courthouse steps, but do not have the time to go down there every day and HOPE that they are going to go through with the trustee sale. I can’t do that because I have other obligations during the day. Flippers can waste their time because they (the big ones) are dedicated solely to buying and flipping these homes. They know the auctioneer(s), they have the connections with the title companies, have the team set up, etc., and they are much stronger competitors than the single buyer who wants to buy a primary residence.
Again, it would be nice to go to the courthouse steps and only have to compete with other organic buyers, especially if we all had to pay cash — our OWN cash, not investors’ cash. It would be great if banks would actually foreclose and sell the properties that are supposed to be sold at the courthouse steps. Unfortunately, neither is possible in this market.
I’ve talked to Jim Klinge a number of times about buying at the courthouse steps, but most of the properties are not making it to sale, as you know. We have cash, we have market knowledge, but we cannot spend every day down there in a futile attempt to get the one house we might want — and which will most likely not make it to sale, or will be bid up by the flippers.
Please don’t get defensive about this, and do NOT take this personally, SDR. None of my anger is directed at you, and I sincerely hope you know that. I totally understand why you’ve pursued flips, and have been tempted to myself, for the very reasons you’re doing it. It’s almost as if the govt is giving us no choice but to play the game. I don’t hate the player, I hate the game.
