News
UGLY MARKET GETS BETTER
May 19, 2011
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| Remember these signs around town? Well, the ?We Buy Ugly Houses? company is coming back into Atlanta in a big way. It's owned by HomeVestors, and the company's looking to regrow its Atlanta franchise that got decimated during the housing crash, says John Holman, who heads up biz dev for metro Atlanta. John tells us the real estate Recession ?kicked our %#@,? with 19 franchises at the peak down to three today. Of course, the model has changed to reflect the times. Homeowners call into the company based on the billboards and franchisees buy the homes at reduced pricing (either with their own capital or loans from the HomeVestors mothership). The big change this time around is the franchisee isn't likely to try and flip the home. ?The return you can get by buying homes and holding them as rentals is very, very good,? John says. ?The value of houses has dropped dramatically, but rents have not dropped nearly as much.? As of press time, John tells us he's signed up six new franchisees here. |
