In recent years there have been
three main varieties of buyers out there for Real Estate:
The Flipper – made up almost exclusively of renovators who buy a depreciated property at a discount with the sole purpose of owning it only long enough to repair/modify it up to an acceptable market-price/profit-margin for sale. They see their length of ownership in terms of months. Usually single family homes, less often: duplexes.
The Speculator – made up of some slower Flippers, and those who follow trends in real estate development. These individuals are hoping to be ahead of whatever development waves are passing through. They want to own houses in the next up-and-coming neighborhood, or the land that will be bid on by competing developers. They see their length of ownership in terms of years, but less than five. Usually single and multi-family homes, along with undeveloped plots. Practically all multi-family home purchases initially fall into this category, although they may be owned beyond five years for other reasons.
The Investor – buys long term. Pure and simple. Dream Home buyers. The property typically stays in family after death of buyer. They ‘Invest’ in all aspects of the house, neighborhood, and surrounding community.
All that explanation, just to point out how strange it is that today,
some markets are seeing Flippers getting caught out there, and having to become
Speculating Landlords. It must be something of a shock to go from remodeler/renovator to Landlord over the exact same property.
Mind splitting.
