Totally Flipped Out

Buying dumpy houses to fix up for the reno-averse was a foolproof way to make a buck. Not anymore By Bert Archer in Toronto Life Magazine

At the height of the boom, even total novices were able to make a bundle scooping up unlovely properties by the dozen to fix or fluff before turning them over. These so-called flippers regularly pocketed between 15 and 30 per cent profit on their investments, but don’t hate them because they’re rich: though the term “flipper” carries connotations of a cavalier disregard for anything but dollars, they play an important role in the urban property ecosystem. Pretty pot lights, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances lure otherwise wary buyers into dodgy neighbourhoods, expanding the horizons of prosperity. Areas like Leslie­ville and Riverdale owe a good deal of their ascendancy to flippers, who generally follow in the wake of artists and resourceful homosexuals, paving the way for the gentry.

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