It sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? A 4-bedroom home in the Land Park / Curtis Park area of Sacramento for $75 a square foot? Hey, it's for sale. I hate to burst your bubble, but it's a farce. How do I know it's a farce? For starters, homes in that area sell in the upper $300's -- on average about $250 a square foot.

A bank is not going to accept a short sale offer at a price dramatically below the area's comparable sales. To deliberately price a home this low is terribly misleading to consumers and reflects poorly on the credibility of real estate professionals.

You may ask yourself why would an agent price a short sale like this? I don't know the agent in question but I would suspect it's because the agent hopes to draw multiple offers. The truth is that agent would get multiple offers if the home had been priced 10% below the comparable sales instead of 50% below market value.  There is no need to try to trick buyers.

On the other hand, the agent may be trying to attract home buyers to whom he can sell other properties. That's known as a bait and switch tactic, I believe. The types of buyers attracted to this home will be buyers who want to pay 25 cents on the dollar or those who can't afford to pay market. Call me silly, but working with those buyers in this particular real estate market is like trying to teach my cat to walk on a leash. Ain't gonna happen, and it's waste of time.

If you see a home priced under market, ask your agent if that price is for real. On short sales, all offers are subject to bank approval, so agents can slap any old price tag on them that they want. But it doesn't mean anything.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming June 2009.

Photo: Big Stock Photo