Too-Good-to-be-True Real Estate Come-On’s
Combine an (over)heated housing market, scarce inventory (at least at the lower price rungs), and a shaky economy in which lots of consumers have still-battered credit, and what do you get?
Home-made signs (like the one to the right) on telephone poles promising would-be home Buyers their pick of hundreds of Twin Cities homes, all of which can be purchased, cheap, on a contract for deed.
Mortgage Alternative
Unlike a bank-issued mortgage, a contract for deed is a private loan between the Buyer and Seller, and appeals to Buyers whose credit scores don’t qualify them for a traditional mortgage.
The angle for home sellers? (at least ones with lots of equity)
A higher interest rate on their savings — and possibly a higher selling price (note to Buyers: you can’t both be getting deals).
1 in 14,000
So, how plausible is it that calling a number on a telephone pole will lead to a great home at a great price — financed by the Seller, no less?
Put it this way: out of something like 14,000 Twin Cities homes currently listed for sale on MLS, I found a sum total of ONE indicating that the Seller would accept a contract for deed.
No doubt, there are another 1% – 2% who might be receptive to it, once they’ve had it explained to them.
