Phoenix: ‘Fix, flip’ crowd fired up
The Arizona Republic – The housing market may have cooled but not the enthusiasm for investing in Phoenix area real estate.
About 1,000 investors and would-be investors spent the weekend at Phoenix Civic Plaza learning how to find cheap properties and then “fix and flip” them.
They came with different backgrounds and bank accounts, but all seemed eager to find out more about what is considered one of the best ways to find strong returns on investment: Put your money and sweat equity into real estate.
A year of historic gains may be behind investors in the Phoenix area, but that didn’t deter the crowds at the Real Estate Investors and Landlords Conference & Expo, where they heard tantalizing tales from investors who picked up distressed properties cheap, fixed them and resold them for solid profits.
The fact that housing prices have stabilized or even fallen in some areas and the number of homes for sale has risen significantly in the past few months didn’t seem to cool interest.
Investors have been blamed for, or credited with, causing the huge run-up in housing prices over the past year. But Alan Langston, executive director of the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association, said it wasn’t investors who did that but short-term speculators.
True investors make their money over the long term, while speculators like to hold property for several months or a year, he said. Many have moved on to other states, such as Florida and Texas, he said.
The conference’s expo showed that many businesses have sprung up to support investors. There are companies that offer classes, sell distressed or foreclosed properties wholesale and help with renovations, tax shelters, insurance and financing.