Builder Buys Distressed Homes, Rents Them Out
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Builders have struggled to compete with distressed homes that sell at big discounts, so one major home builder has found a way it also can cash in on the discounts. For the past year, Beazer Homes USA has been buying up distressed homes and turning them into rentals, hoping that one day these renters will become home buyers.

The home builder has been purchasing distressed properties in Phoenix and Las Vegas and renovating the homes before they rent them out.

The company recently announced that it has created a new real estate investment trust, called Beazer Pre-Owned Rental Homes Inc. (BPRH), in order to grow its single-family rental home business.

“We believe our investment in BPRH allows us to unlock the value in our rental homes business and grow it more rapidly than we otherwise could within Beazer,” says Allan P. Merrill, Beazer’s CEO. “BPRH’s ability to focus specifically on the rental homes market and attract external capital to scale the business represents a compelling—and differentiated—value for our shareholders.”

Source: “Beazer Forms Partnership to Buy Rental Homes,” Builder Magazine (May 3, 2012)