South Florida's housing boom cratered fast and, like the epicenter of an earthquake, left a trail of destruction in its wake.

But in the aftershocks of plummeting home prices, unemployment and continuing foreclosures, some professionals and entrepreneurs have found ways to make money amid the ruins.

Jeff Waters, of Giving Tree Development of Fort Lauderdale, considers himself a ``white angel'' for buying notes at deeply discounted rates and then lowering borrowers' monthly mortgages to help save their homes.

Others, like Peter Zalewski, of CondoVultures of Bal Harbor, have no qualms about capitalizing on the misfortunes of others by gobbling up bargains to make big bucks.

``It's not noble, but it's definitely profitable,'' Zalewski said.

The opportunities that have arisen from one of the biggest housing meltdowns in South Florida history are expected to continue for the next year or two with new foreclosure filings swamping the courts with no end in sight.

``Those who never came to grips with the historic bust are improving their golf games or catching a lot of fish,'' said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real-estate analyst. ``Those who had the foresight to shift gears for the tumultuous marketplace have found opportunities to start and grow businesses. Some are going to make fortunes.''

Former business journalist Zalewski founded his foreclosure specialty real estate and consulting firm in March 2006 -- a few months before the start of the housing crash he predicted would come.

Over the past three years Zalewski said he has hired 36 agents to keep up with the demand from cash investors looking for bargains. His business, with its provocative name, caught the eye of filmmaker Michael Moore while he was working on his new documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story.

Zalewski is featured in the documentary and its trailer, which shows foreclosure signs in front of residential homes. It cuts to the well-groomed entrepreneur sitting at his desk. As he makes his hands look like he's firing a gun, Zalewski says: ``This is straight up capitalism. Chi-Chi-Boom.''

Waters helped found Giving Tree Development last year out of necessity. He was a casualty of the bankruptcy of global investment bank and brokerage firm Bear Stearns.

He soon found it possible to buy up distressed mortgages -- as few as one at a time, rather than purchasing them in large pools of 200 houses or more.

The process works like this: A company or its investors purchase a note, then the homeowners get a knock on their door and are given the news about the change of their loan servicer and offered a modification.

``It's not every day a white angel knocks on the door wearing a T-shirt and shorts and wants to reduce your mortgage payment,'' Waters said. ``They are in disbelief.''

WIN-WIN SITUATION

Because the notes are bought at deep discounts, Waters' company is able to make a profit by making the mortgage affordable now and then refinancing the home years later when the housing market recovers.

``It's gratifying to make a living helping people who are really down and out,'' Waters said.

Foreclosures also have been good business for Ken Arnold. In December 2006, he foundedMiami-based Association Financial Services, a finance company for condo and homeowner associations, just as the foreclosure crisis began.

He soon started offering advances to cash-strapped associations, enabling them to move forward with foreclosures on homes and units where owners were no longer paying association dues or their mortgages.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@