Investors and Developers Lock Horns Over Flipping of Miami Condos

Builders across Florida are joining together to fight Miami condo flippers, investors and speculators who buy condos "for the sole purpose of quickly selling" them at a profit, usually not taking title to them and reselling them before they´re even built.

Miami condo developers say that flippers "are bringing a hyper-short-term mentality to real estate ownership that creates too much turnover" and artificially raise the cost of Miami condos.

Local flippers are striking back by saying that developers are unfairly pointing their collective finger. Flippers claim that developers "are often the first these days to hyperactively raise home prices to levels that attract investors in the first place."

Developers pshaw flipper claims and are actively searching for ways to keep them from buying up new Miami condos. Developers nationwide now work "flip-buster" clauses into their sales contracts. Many "demand that buyers pledge in writing that they´ll actually occupy the home they buy." Others limit the number of units one person can buy or require that investors close on and take title to their new Miami condos.