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I have written a few posts on this subject. There are homes listed on our MLS for $1.00 and people think that they can actually be purchased for a dollar. It doesn't work that way. Most are up for auction and the minimum bid is set at a number much greater than a dollar. The reason the home is listed for $1.00 is because our MLS requires that all listings have a price.

There are some foreclosures listed for 10K. Yes these are really listed for 10K and there isn't an auction.  Wow! being able to buy a home for 10K, how cool is that.  I guess it is way cool if the buyer has at least another 100K to make the necessary repairs or enough money to demolish it and build a new home on the lot.  In some cases the property doesn't need 100K worth of work, in those cases often someone else makes an offer on the home for much more than 10k and ends up getting it.  The buyer who only has 10K to spend is left out of these deals. 

In recent weeks there have been numerous instances of multiple offers on the lowest priced home. I have heard rumors that there were 40 offers on one home. The banks lower the prices and the games begin. My phone rings off the hook with buyers wanting to buy 50K homes. If the plan is to find a place to live and to buy it for 50K don't plan on it. Housing prices have gone down in the twin cities but it still takes more than 50K to buy a home. With rare exception it will take at least 100K by the time it closes and the buyer gets the keys. Cash buyers have a big advantage in this market. Many of the very lowest priced homes are difficult to finance because of the repairs they need.Some repairs are truly needed and in other cases they are needed because of the way the city of St. Paul treats vacant buildings. Either way they need work.

If it looks too good to be true it probably is but I know you will call and ask anyway.