Peter Quinones, founder of Investor Trustee Services, has joined the National Association for Housing Revitalization (NAHR) as a founding Charter Member. The national trade association works to return aged, distressed, and vacant homes to the market as attainable housing. As a Charter Member, Quinones will engage with the association and contribute an operator's perspective from the Florida market. Official NAHR positions are determined by the association.
Investor Trustee Services buys distressed single-family homes across Florida and places them with a network of local rehabbers who restore them and return them to the market. As an approved bidder in HUD's single-family loan sales, the company plans to begin acquiring pools of HUD-held mortgages on vacant and distressed properties, starting with HUD's HVLS 2027-1 sale.
This matters because it signals a shift in who is expected to rehabilitate the nation's aging housing stock. The announcement comes as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which takes effect January 7, 2027, bars large institutional investors, defined as entities controlling 350 or more single-family homes, from purchasing single-family homes, subject to stated exceptions. When those large buyers step back, the work of acquiring and renovating distressed properties will fall more heavily on local operators.
Quinones argues that these homes are not unwanted; they are empty because of condition and title issues. "These houses already exist, they already have utilities at the street, and they already sit in neighborhoods people want to live in," said Quinones. "They are empty because of condition and title, not because nobody wants them. When a national fund owns the asset, the return leaves town. When a local operator does the work, it stays."
That distinction has implications for local economies. If a national fund owns a distressed property, the profits from its rehabilitation may flow out of the community. If a local operator does the work, the economic benefit—jobs, materials, and profit—remains in the area. By joining NAHR as a Charter Member, Quinones is positioning himself and other local operators as the ones who can take on the houses that need work. "When the largest buyers step back, somebody still has to take on the houses that need work," said Quinones. "Local operators are the ones who can fix them and hand them to a family in livable condition."
Investor Trustee Services, through its approved bidder status in HUD's single-family loan sales, plans to begin acquiring pools of HUD-held mortgages on vacant and distressed properties, starting with HUD's HVLS 2027-1 sale. The company, founded by Quinones, who has worked in distressed real estate since 2005, specializes in distressed single-family homes. More information is available at Investor Trustee Services.
The timing of this announcement is significant. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act takes effect on January 7, 2027, just months after the NAHR Charter Membership period. As large institutional investors are barred from purchasing single-family homes, the market will need a robust network of local operators to acquire and rehabilitate distressed properties. NAHR's mission to return aged, distressed, and vacant homes to the market as attainable housing aligns with that need. Quinones's participation as a founding Charter Member suggests that local operators will have a voice in shaping how the association approaches these challenges. The outcome could affect housing supply and affordability in Florida and beyond, as the industry adapts to the new regulatory landscape.
