Home flippers are out of fashion and out of work, according to a new book, Real Estate and the Financial Crisis, by Anthony Downs (Urban Land Institute, $29.95) -- especially in markets such as Miami and Las Vegas, where flippers constituted up to 40 percent of all home purchases at the peak of the market.

In those markets the inability to continue to flip homes for far more than they paid has led to the high number of foreclosures. "This occupation will not be missed by genuine homebuyers," Downs writes, "even though many home builders profited from it for several years."

The demise of the Chicagoland house flipper may be slightly exaggerated, says Richard Druker, vice president and managing broker for Baird & Warner, with an office in the Gold Coast.

"We will not see the same quantity as we did in the past," Druker said. "But I still think there is potential for somebody to purchase a property that may need a renovation for some reason and turn it around and sell it for more."

But the carrying costs can be staggering, and it would be unwise to jump in without a lot of research, he said.

Recently Druker heard from a potential buyer who thought he could make a couple hundred thousand by buying a $1.1 million gutted condominium, fixing it up for $300,000 and re-selling it for around $1.8 million.

But the buyer was allowing about $100 a square foot for renovations, far too little to finish a luxury home that needs upgraded appliances and high-end finishes. The margins were too narrow to assure a profit for the flipper.

"There is too much risk involved," Druker said. "You still have the unknowns of whether or not it will sell. And what if the renovation takes two months longer and you have the carrying costs?"

Carrying costs are nothing to sneeze at, given the slow pace of today's market. Back when homes were selling within hours of listing, flippers seldom worried about having to pay extra months' payments. But the condo flipper above could be facing at least 10 months on the market.

Current dynamics are discouraging the amount of flipping we saw a few years ago, says Rich Vesely of Coldwell Banker Residential in Naperville.

"Most investors that I know have put the brakes on," Vesely said. "Due to the fact that there are so many short sales and foreclosures out there you cannot determine how long it would take for any return on the investment."

Inexperienced investors might take a look at the foreclosure down the street and figure it's a great investment, but often they are naive about taxes, Vesely adds. Property taxes will be based on the average price of the home over the past three years, not its current fire sale price.

Vesely, who is experienced in distressed sales, has seen buyers make an offer based on the reduced price of a home, only to not qualify for the loan because the original, higher taxes on the home put the full cost out of reach.

And while it might seem logical that buyers would look at short-sale homes, in fact it is common for short sales to take so long that buyers are left without a place to live.

"Short sales take longer than a bank-owned property," Vesely explained. "The bank-owned property has a predetermined value, but a short sale starts at fair market value and keeps dropping in price until you get an offer."

But that's not the end of it. Short sales have substantial paperwork, and the offer can be countered by the bank and has to be approved by the lender. "A short sale might not be closed after six months," he said, "or it might never close." Vesely represented the sellers on 14 short sales in 2008 and all but one closed. That kind of a record is not easy, he said, because banks are inundated with short sales and usually are short-staffed.

Before he started specializing in short sales, he said, only partly joking: "I had a full head of hair."