[Buyer beware] Not all Charleston MLS listings are for real
... but how can that be if you read it on the Internet.
The Charleston MLS serves many purposes, one of which is for Charleston real estate agents to market their listings to not only other agents but to the consumer public. And of course, marketing can be creative.
I've talked previously about short sales and the list prices which sometimes seem too good to be true. When you look through listings and see a home in a neighborhood that is priced so much lower than other comparable homes, it will either be a short sale or a foreclosure.
Now if it's a foreclosure, you probably can buy it pretty close to the list price because the bank is the seller and can make a decision. If you submit an offer the bank considers realistic, your offer should get accepted unless there are multiple offers which would likely drive the price up.
But if it's a short sale, you can't necessarily trust the list price. "It may easily be a teaser price just to get offers in", said Carolyn Warren, author of a new book, Homebuyers Beware: Who's Ripping You Off Now?" (FT Press). "It's kind of like posting something on eBay. They are going to list it at a dollar, but they might only sell it for $1,000."
And then there are some new construction listings that don't always tell the entire story. Sometimes in the agent notes which are not available for the consumer public to see, the listing is clarified. As an example, I noticed this the other day when looking at listings for a client.
"This is a listing based on a potential build. The photos are from an existing home and may contain options not included in the base price. Price listed is the base price and includes standard features only. Price does not include a home site premium. Price reflects current incentives."
Would you come to the conclusion that this listing might be too good to be true if you can't buy the house for the listed price with all the goodies that you thought might be included.