'Mortgagee sale' can be trick to lure buyers

Estate agents are dressing down houses displayed on websites to look like mortgagee sales so they will entice bargain hunters.

Gary Brunsdon, a director of North Shore valuers Sheldon & Partners, said many website advertisements used terms such as "not for mortgagee auction".

This ensured they came up when bargain hunters entered the term "mortgagee" in searches.

But banks were often not calling the shots on the sales, and some properties were not even being sold because the vendors were in a difficult situation.

A website search yesterday by the Weekend Herald found many ads using the sought-after terms.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 28 Mar 2009

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