Investors fix up homes to flip in Highland Park
Nestled on a hilltop, the three-bedroom ranch house was once a warren of illegal structures -- occupied by as many as 15 people before the place descended into disrepair and skidded close to foreclosure. The surrounding neighborhood once had a reputation for gang violence.
But on a recent Sunday, eager couples -- Asian, caucasian, Latino -- were touring the home. Gone were the moldy walls, the piles of abandoned bedroom junk and the broken-down cars, car parts and washing machines littering the lawn. The foul-smelling raw sewage running down the nearby hill had been cleaned away.
Los Angeles investor Roberta Berthold had bought the disheveled property for $242,000 and poured in about $110,000 to take it “down to the studs,” adding features such as a wrap-around deck, floating wood floors, new plumbing, electrical systems and a patch of green lawn that accentuated the rolling views of the Craftsman-style homes dotting the area.
Luis Garcia, 39, was among those touring the property. He sported a collared shirt and blue slacks and carried brochures on the home’s features and financing options; his small son clutched his leg at times. The Los Angeles police officer said he was attracted to Highland Park because he and his wife desired more space, and they could get more for their money there. He also said he sensed an aura of transformation reverberating through the air.
“It feels a little bit more family oriented, and more young people are coming into the area -- the demographics have changed,” Garcia said. “York Boulevard used to be a dead street after dark, and now you drive by and you feel a certain ambience.”
Highland Park and other Northeast Los Angeles neighborhoods have drawn investors seeking single-family homes to buy, renovate and flip for a profit, attracted by the area’s relative affordability and steady supply of distressed properties. That, in turn, is fueling a wave of gentrification that is turning the area into a hub for boutique retail outlets, artists, young professionals, musicians and hipsters -- even in the face of a still-rocky housing market. Read the full article.
The comparatively low cost of the area and sense of opportunity drove Berthold, who used to live in Highland Park, to buy the hilltop ranch style home through a short sale and renovate it with her husband, a contractor. The renovation was the first home the couple had tried to flip since the boom years. They plan to buy another house and repeat the process when the hilltop home sells.
“The gangbangers are slowly moving out; it’s getting there,” Berthold said of her old stamping grounds. “We like the neighborhood because it has a lot of character, and we think we can get a really good price for our money.”
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