Unpleasant Surprises for Online Real Estate Buyers

prostoalex writes "Buying expensive items online from the people you've never met without any guarantees on the seller's part might seem a bit risky even for an experienced Internet shopper. The 'hotness' of the real estate investment market apparently influences some cash-heavy investors to look for opportunities online. When the entire transaction is done via a click of the mouse, and the deed for newly bought real estate arrives in the mail, some unsuspecting buyers might discover that a cozy house near the bus line in the middle of a busy street might imply a criminalized neighborhood and proximity to crack house. The New York Times investigates negative experiences of people buying investment real estate online."

PLEASE BE HELPING ME

[LiquidCoooled]

i have 50 million of your american dollers stored in bank account.
my bank manager (mr arran) tells me i need an american to sign them over.
if you can help me to withdraw it from bank i will give you 40 percant.
yes, thats right i said 40 percant. you will get a whole 15million american dollers for helping me.
sinerity yours
mr wamo

JRGhaddar

[JRGhaddar]

They don't tell you you're going to be across the street from a crack house. Yeah but if you get 3 more crack houses you can then upgrade to a bordello, and that's where the money is...

Sight unseen?

[erick99]

And I worry about buying a $20 item on eBay based on a description and a photo......

Re:Check it out first, dammit

[Fred_A]

At least with V14gr4 you know what you're getting !

Re:Check it out first, dammit

[archeopterix]

If you buy something as expensive as a house without even bothering to take a look at it beforehand, you can't blame anyone but yourself. This is not a piece of bread -- you can't just shrug and throw it away.

Agreed. One shoud also bear in mind that:

• Running with unprotected scissors is dangerous, especially so if wearing high heels and running downstairs.
• American football is played with an oval ball.
• Starting a land war in Russia during the winter leads to defeat.
• You can teach a dog to do tricks, but it takes a long time for an oak tree to grow.

Dear Slashdotter,

[archeopterix]

I am contacting you with this fabulous business offer. I am selling a property at a bargain price of $50000!. I have prepared some pictures here [google.com].

.. I got scammed like this

[neveragain4181]

Yeah, got hit by the unexpected shipping charges...

Re:Buffalo, NY

[CrazyTalk]

As someone who grew up in Buffalo, I can sum it up in one word - jobs. OK, maybe two words - jobs and snow.

Re:Darwin in action

[igny]

I don't know about used cars, but I have a used bridge located on East coast of USA, which I can sell to you for mere $2999.95

I found a pleasant surprise....

[MonoSynth]

....for Dutch online real estate buyers :)

go to www.funda.nl (the country's biggest real estate website) and search for 'konijn' (Dutch for 'rabbit') :)

What knack?

[MrNougat]

From TFA: This might help explain why Greg Tanner, who says he has a knack for "turning one dollar into two dollars," is now more than $30,000 in debt.

Sounds like it should be the other way around. He's doing great turning two dollars into one.