Vultures may land in S. Florida

Investment funds that buy up so-called distressed assets could give the area’s real estate market a boost, now that things appear to have reached bottom. After a year of screeching value declines and last week’s meltdown on Wall Street, as many as 100 investment funds shopping for South Florida real estate may start buying up bargains. Their leading targets will be condominium towers where developers can’t sell enough units to pay off the loans used to build them. The funds come to the table with cash, but also a catch: a demand that the developers and banks accept a deep discount, typically between 40 and 50 cents on the dollar.