Steven Hockstein Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 I was chatting with one of the window dealers that occasionally drops by my office. He told me that about two years ago he knew the real estate market was in trouble when a woman came into his showroom to buy windows for a house she was building. She told him that now that her kids are in school all day she had some free time and decided to become a real estate developer. She saw how many old homes were being razed and replaced with new houses and figured that the builders were getting rich. She convinced her husband to borrow the money using the equity in their home to buy an old house (in a neighborhoood where knockdowns were a million dollars) and build a spec house on the property. She was the General Contractor between PTA meetings. Fast forward---the old house is knocked down, the new house is half-built and sitting with no buyer, they had to sell the house they were living in to pay debt and they are now living in a rental apartment. OOPS! At least the spec house is not owned by the bank (yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 She never learned the first rule of real estate development: use other people's money. (OPM) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben H Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 She never learned the first rule of real estate development: use other people's money. (OPM) Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.