DENVER – It sounds brilliant in retrospect: buy a bunch of homes at a discount during the foreclosure crisis then ride the wave as home prices boom again.
About 10 years ago, this was the plan for Charles Roberts. People genuinely thought he was crazy, particularly when the economy was in freefall to open the Great Recession.
“You’re sitting down at a closing only to find out that the bank that was funding the loan just went out of business and everybody lost their jobs,” the Denver real estate investor recalled.
Still, Roberts and other investors were able to build a portfolio of homes in the Denver area. Roberts currently has 16 rentals.
For those with the stomach, and the money, there were deals everywhere. Especially in low-end neighborhoods hit the hardest by the housing crisis. At the time, it was welcome news for those neighborhoods since investors were putting money into the homes and putting them on the market.
Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio
