His business is earning him a pretty penny during the mortgage crunch and is attracting the attention of large investors, despite Gutierrez currently running his business from a small office with just himself and his wife as employees.
At this stage of the game they're playing a very small role, but I expect that that role will accelerate as more people are willing to accept reality," said Sam Zell, the billionaire real estate investor who's called "the Grave Dancer" for buying distressed assets.
“The single-family market has to be cleared. No market works unless it clears. If banks can't clear, they can't make new loans. Anything you do to keep people who can't afford it in their houses is another way of delaying the market clearing.”
One homeowner who was $365,000 underwater after buying the house with no money down in June 2005, could make Gutierrez $70,000 in the blink of an eye. At this stage of the game they're playing a very small role, but I expect that that role will accelerate as more people are willing to accept reality," said Sam Zell, the billionaire real estate investor who's called "the Grave Dancer" for buying distressed assets.
If Gutierrez bought the note for 20 cents on the dollar, or $73,000, he could probably get the owner to leave by giving her $5,000 for moving expenses, then sell the home for about $150,000, well below even the neighbourhood’s declining market value, leaving him with a profit of about $70,000.
