Craigslist an effect tool for Real Estate Shoppers...? Be aware!

FinanceMortgage & Debt

  • Author Jason Coriano
  • Published August 28, 2010
  • Word count 1,106

Is Craigslist a tool for Real Estate shoppers...?

Like millions of other bargain hunters, I use Craigslist often. But the question remains the same: Is it an effective tool for all your purchases? The big question for me are: Is it safe? … and … Do you really get what you pay for?

As the San Diego Real Estate market begins to make its turn upward, bargain hunters are continuing to search for deals all over the Internet with Craigslist being one of the top utilized search tools. Craigslist was founded in 1995 in the San Francisco Bay Area. As it became more popular, the website expanded its reach to major cities across the world, and today it has expanded into many small towns just outside of those major cities. Soon people began exploiting the popularity and success of the website and found ways to take advantage of unsuspecting bargain hunters; from selling items that did not exist, to taken extreme measures of robbing buyers when they picked up the item with the cash in hand. Even I have fallen trap to the old bait and switch.

So the question still remains, is purchasing or renting San Diego Real Estate through Craigslist the best bet? I believe there are truly honest people in this world and they have nothing but the best intentions. However, there are some individuals that you need to be cautious of. It is unfortunate that a small few make us all think twice about buying or renting something off of Craigslist. These statements, by no means are NEGATIVE statements about the Craigslist website, but only a means to emphasize … buyer beware!

Here is a great example of what you need to be cautious of.

I have friend that lives in downtown San Diego and he was renting a place that he needed to move from, so he asked me if I knew of any condos in downtown San Diego for him to rent. Of course my response was yes, but what is your budget and when do you need to move? He gave me the information and I took the time to search out a few places and emailed him his options. A week passed by and I did not hear anything back from him, so I reached out to him and no response. After about 2 weeks he replied to my email saying, "thanks for the research but the pricing was a little high on the units you sent me and I thought I could get a better "deal" on Craigslist." He continued to say "I did found something cheaper in M2I." (For those that don't know M2I, it is a very urban condo/loft building in downtown San Diego. It is one of my favorite buildings because of some of the unique building and unit characteristics. It has exposed concrete, exposed duck work, and floor to ceiling windows.) Going back to this unfortunate situation, he continued to explain, "I put a deposit down for the unit and that my roommate I will be moving in a week."

I was happy for him that he found a place that he liked and at a price he could afford. About two months later I bumped into him on my way into the office. After all the small talk was done I asked him how his place was and if he liked the unit he was renting? He looked at me with disgust, disappointment and with a little embarrassment. I knew something went wrong, so I asked him what happened? He began to tell me after about a month of living in the unit he got a knock on the door from a real estate agent telling him that he needed to pack up his things and get out of the unit because the unit had just been foreclosed on by the bank and that he was the agent the bank hired to handle the property.

He continued to tell me that the previous owner (the guy who advertised on Craigslist and rented the unit to my friend) was strapped for cash and was not paying his mortgage for over 6 months. The bank and no choice but to take back the property, which left my friend in a pickle of situation. As a tenant he has rights but now he is burdened with having to move after 2 months of living in the unit and to add to the frustration he was going to lose his deposit. He is fortunate that his mother is an attorney and understood renter’s rights; however it took this unfortunate situation to learn that all of it could have been avoided if he had done a little more research on the property.

This is just one example of why it is so important to hire an experienced Real Estate agent to handle all your real estate needs. Let me be clear, is hiring a real estate professional to find a condo or house to rent in San Diego going to prevent this type of scenario from happening? The answer is NO because a home owner could stop making their mortgage payments while you are living there and you could be stuck in this same situation. However, a real estate agent could do initial research to find out if the property is for sale and if the owner’s is current with their mortgage payments before you take possession of the home. This research and knowledge will definitely save you the headache before you move in.

To finish the story of my friend, after a long battle with the bank and the previous owner to recover his deposit and moving expenses; he has since moved into a new home that I helped him find.

In conclusion: it is BUYER BEWARE!

Is there any full proof plan not to be hosed like my friend? No, but why not hire the right people to prevent or reduce the risks of being taken advantage of. If you think that my friend went through an ordeal with only renting a condo, just imagine the trouble that could have happened if he were trying to buy a house on his own with no Real Estate professional involved in this high dollar amount real estate market of San Diego. Many assume that just because a property is For Sale By Owner that a real estate agent cannot be involved. That is wrong! You can hire a real estate agent to represent you during the transaction to help ensure you are not opening yourself up to some major headaches or even worst…. Exposing yourself to a major lawsuit.

Jason D. Coriano is a San Diego Realtor/Broker that prides himself on the attention to detail and high customer service for his clients. You can find out more information about him and his team at www.metrosdrealty.com. If you are in need of finding a home or selling a home contact Jason today at Jason@metrosdrealty.com or 619.665.5360

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