A Twitter account touting the potential of acquiring wealth by “flipping” available real estate in Boyle Heights is raising eyebrows of some neighborhood residents.
In a few days, the account @newboyleheights has posted several examples of properties in the neighborhood that were successfully “flipped” – a term that usually refers to buying a house that needs repair and fixing it up before reselling it for a profit.
Some Tweets claim a profit return as high as 120% in 16 months.
Best flip of the year? Bought in Aug 2015 for $275k; sold in Jan 2017 for $610k! 120% increase in 16 mo. (Stone St.) #boyleheights pic.twitter.com/l7kpjaFJXf
— New Boyle Heights (@newboyleheights) April 17, 2017
Another gorgeous flip sold in January for $450,000. Bought just a year earlier for $290,000. 55% increase! (New Jersey St.) #boyleheights pic.twitter.com/HkMeLsgYR4
— New Boyle Heights (@newboyleheights) April 17, 2017
The account has also Tweeted about some neighborhood attributes, such as the Neighborhood Music School or the upcoming Casa Fina restaurant near Mariachi Plaza.
The Tweets are written from the perspective of a Boyle Heights resident –”headed over to Artic Hotspot for their amazing fresh squeezed orange juice,” it posted on Monday.
The account’s first Tweet, posted on Saturday, April 15, included a link to a web post by Pasadena real estate agent Tyler Harman. But Harman told Boyle Heights Beat that he has nothing to do with the New Boyle Heights Beat Twitter account, and that he does not know who runs it.
“Not sure how that got started, but I can assure you that sort of flagrant and offensive writing is not mine,” Harman said in an email.
Some Boyle Heights residents have taken note of the account on their own social media. Resident Erick Huerta called attention to the account on his Facebook page, asking friends to Tweet back their opinions to the account.
Among those reacting to the account is former Congressional candidate and Boyle Heights activist Wendy Carrillo:
Ummmm no. Silver Lake gentrification displaced a lot of families. #BoyleHeights is not a “chopping block” w/ no regard to people. ? https://t.co/Cx5Lpw1amG
— WendyCarrillo (@wendycarrillo) April 17, 2017
Not what boyle heights is about https://t.co/LpjVQ0CQ9Y
— Roberto ‘Bob’ Oso (@ave43wrecks) April 17, 2017
#Hipster account https://t.co/CFetCtVs2d
— Erick Huerta (@ElRandomHero) April 16, 2017
Editors note: This post originally stated incorrectly that the New Boyle Heights Beat Twitter account was tied to real estate agent Tyler Harman. This post was updated on June 12 to clarify that Harman has no connection to the Twitter account.
