[grudk]

'the' summed it up pretty well. Buying a house never used to be a common speculative activity, but that changed in the last few years (perhaps related to the prior Dot-bomb frenzy ?). I can't 'blame' a flipper, successful or not, for trying to game the system, but I consider their existence parasitic. They contribute nothing of value, and seek only to take. This attitude has sadly become dominant in American culture, with all emphasis on getting 'rich' at any cost. Material wealth is only one measure of success. I have known some very wealthy people, (Ferraris and all, Motion), who I would have to consider tremendous failures in life.