One-Item “Bait & Switch” Bait and switch (noun): 1 : a sales tactic in which a customer is attracted by the advertisement of a low-priced item but is then encouraged to buy a higher-priced one.–Webster’s dictionary Can “bait and switch” ever involve just one item? I’d argue that it can. Normally, of course, there’s the...Read More
Where: 37XX 17th Ave. South, Minneapolis What: 4 BR/2 BA, 2,386 FSF When: on market, April 3; closed, May 22; days on market: 2 How much: list price – $88,900; sold price – $121,000 Want an example of a too-cheap foreclosure setting off a feeding frenzy? This spacious 1 1/2 story (much bigger than it...Read More
Return of the Sub-Prime Lenders One of the surprises — at least to me — wading through all the foreclosures in Minneapolis neighborhoods like Phillips, Camden, and Powderhorn Park is the identity of the banks who now have title (i.e., they’re the owners). It’s a veritable “who’s who” of the most aggressive — and least...Read More
More B.S. (“Bait & Switch”) from the Foreclosure Banks The water cooler is long gone, but that doesn’t mean Realtors don’t engage in “water cooler talk.” One of the hottest topics at the moment is foreclosures. Here’s how it appears to the (above) average Realtor — OK, me — who’s had some passing involvement representing...Read More
Banks Price Low to Elicit Multiple Offers Real-estate brokers say multiple offers on certain homes have recently become more common in parts of California and Arizona and the Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan areas. . . Brokers say banks appear to be deliberately setting asking prices low in some cases to provoke bidding battles...Read More
Are You Right For Foreclosures? The key to making money in foreclosures isn’t sizing up a particular property — it’s knowing yourself. Specifically, your timetable, temperament, budget, fix-up skills (or access to them), and intended holding period. If you’re deficient in any one category, the odds of success go way down; two, the odds become...Read More
