(Image credit: Cory Doctorow/Craphound)
As a San Diego native who grew up not too far from Escondido, I was shocked to see this Reuters article on an area developer who’s giving away a free $400,000 home with the purchase of a luxury estate:
In a market beset with foreclosures and plummeting sales following the mortgage meltdown in 2007, Michael Crews Development will give away a row home valued at $400,000 with the purchase of a $1.6 million luxury estate home in the upscale city of Escondido in northern San Diego County.
The developer claims the row homes are not shoddy townhouses that are being given away with luxury estate homes.
Since the first advertisement went up nearly two weeks ago, one man has made an offer to buy a Royal View estate home, but chose not to take the free row-home. The developers have a solution for that as well.
“If you don’t know what to do with your free home, you could always give it away,” (developers) said.
When I moved out of California in 2005, people were still clamoring for homes in inland North County San Diego. Local real-estate gurus claimed the area was immune to collapse. ‘Course, that was before last year’s fires nearly incinerated the region. And before anyone knew what “subprime” meant.
But still, a free home?
Wow.
