The New Floor in Pricing: UPDATE
Remember the $199,000 condo in the Lafayette that seemed too good to be true?
It was a total scam.
I assumed it was a ruse to start a frenzied bidding war (I mean, it was a good enough deal to get ME, the resident housing bear, out from hibernation and ready to tour it!) and I was right. Now that the place presumably garnered a great deal of interest, the price has magically been changed to Greed-Head status.
Pretty clever...if it weren't so pathetically transparent. We now have an asking price of $319,000--a full 60% more than yesterday's asking price!
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Remember, the original listing description went like so:
GIGANTIC PRICE DROP!! Nearly $300,000k off original list price!! No question this is the best price per sq. foot in downtown Long Beach. This is NOT a SHORT or REO - although it's priced like one! This amazing one-of-a-kind unit in the historic Lafayette Building is loaded with history and a classic vintage feel. The property includes a rooftop garden w/ fountain and city views, inside laundry hook-ups, and NO COMMON WALLS. New kitchen & Brazillian Cherry Floor in 2nd bedroom. A state-of-the-are gym is included in low HOA. The rooftop solarium has spectacular views of the entire L.A. basin and the Long Beach harbor / Catalina. BEST VALUE in the historic East Village landmark once owned by the Hiltons! Walk to everything! Pet friendly. Parking is available. Get the VALUE of a short sale without the hassle. This owner is motivated beyond belief! Get your offer in now before the deadline - call for details. Showings are appt. only. Investors this is your chance for a spectacular deal.
But now they pulled a bait-and-switch and the new greed-tastic description differs considerably:
BEST AND FINAL (BAFU) [Yep, they just tried to F U] offers now being accepted! Bid / offer date extended to close of business Tuesday June 2 [Whatever that's supposed to mean. Notice there is no mention of the big price reduction, which is what got people interested in the first place]. Priced way under market - February appraisal was $450k!!! [Well then why in the name of Buddha would they not price it closer to that number? Furthermore, this wasn't mentioned in the first listing--they're trying to justify the pricing head-fake]This is NOT a SHORT or REO - run your comps, and make reasonable offer. [Now this just sounds bitter. Have you noticed how the tone has changed? Earlier they were almost HAPPY to unload this thing for such a great price, now they seem indignant that anyone actually submitted offers for the price that THEY reduced it to--which they now consider "unreasonable"] This amazing one-of-a-kind unit in the historic Lafayette Building is loaded with history [No mention of the "classic vintage feel"?]. The property includes a rooftop garden, inside laundry hook-ups, and NO COMMON WALLS. New kitchen & Brazillian Cherry Floor in 2nd bedroom. A state-of-the-are [still didn't bother to fix this typo] gym is included in low HOA. The rooftop solarium has spectacular views of the entire L.A. basin & the Long Beach harbor / Catalina. BEST VALUE [Not as good of a value as it was 24 hours ago] in the historic East Village landmark once owned by the Hiltons! Walk to everything! Pet friendly. Parking is available, 3 options! [Wow! 3 options! Street parking, paying through the nose at the Hyatt, or riding a bike]. Unless one of those options is two parking spots underneath the actual building, they can kick rocks for $319,000] Get the VALUE of a short sale without the hassle. [Notice how they removed the "seller is motivated beyond belief" bullshit. Yeah, now that dollar signs have appeared in his eyes, the seller is mysteriously not so motivated anymore] Showings are appt. only. Investors this is your chance for a spectacular deal [Can you believe these idiots kept this part in the listing? I mean, with parking and HOA fees, it BARELY penciled out as a rental property at $199K. Now, an incredible $120,000 later, they are still claiming it's spectacular for investors. Unbelievable]. Multiple offers are expected: call agent for details [Well, they WERE expected at the old price, but not anymore. It's back to avarice-fueled pricing and another 200 days on market].
The nerve.
And look, they even brought in stagers this time!
You know what's sad? They are going to end up selling it for around $199,000 anyway. That is the price an investor will come in at. Think about it: How much rent could an owner charge knowing that the parking situation is an absolute mess? I can't imagine too many people are willing to pay $2,000 a month to deal with that horsecrap. That needs to be factored into the price from an investment standpoint.
It's just that now, thanks to their JUST KIDDING! shenanigans, they're not going to get their $199k until years from now. And after carrying costs, maintenance costs, parking and HOA fees have eaten them alive during that time, they will realize that they should have just priced the thing to sell from the beginning and not played games in the name of greed.
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