Letter to the Editor: Investors Are Not Gamblers

Dear Editor:

Reading your Aug. 21 NBN article on “Investors Coming Back to Haunt Florida Builders,” I have a problem with referring to the numerous buyers who made deposits on properties with no intention of completing the purchase as “investors.”

Let's be honest, these people are speculators, not investors. A real estate investor is someone who adds value. A speculator is a gambler who believes in magic and hopes the price of the property he purchased grows in proportion to the size of his ego.

I work with investors to seek out properties we can acquire and improve, and, yes, eventually sell for significant profits in which I share. To avoid the kinds of situations described in the article, we don't take offers from speculators and we require buyers to be owner-occupants of the property. When the market shifts we share the pain, and smaller margins, of other builders, but our approach minimizes the shock.

Kirk Knight
Gallagher & Lindsey Inc. Realtors®; Alameda, Calif.

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