Flipping Foreclosure Properties
Some people are making a career of buying properties at monthly foreclosure sales and flipping them. They look to buy at low prices at foreclosure auctions, clean up the properties and sell them for a profit. In this case, some people's bad fortune is someone else's opportunity, and these property flippers are providing a backstop to the market.
Today's flippers differ from those during the real estate boom who were focused on taking advantage of rapidly rising prices. Today, flippers are looking to buy at the lowest prices, doing minor repairs and trying to sell the properties quickly. The profits aren't as large as during the bubble, but these flippers may be selling more properties in a year to make up for it. They are really doing their homework on what market prices are, spending up to 60 hours a week prior to auctions doing research on potential properties.