@RamV10: "Inappropriate comment" is very different from "rapist".

But I'm actually just posting again to clarify that I made a presumption and spoke for Consumerist when I certainly shouldn't have. For all I know, maybe it was just a board glitch. Maybe it was deleted for a possible reference to the sale of a human being. Maybe none of the above. Hell, maybe it's still there, but in a white font.

Regardless, I wouldn't blame them; I know more than one site that landed in hot water for less.

So wait...I said "it's too bad she's not older" and i'm a rapist?

Sheesh, you people need to lighten up. There are far more commenters that found my comment funny than didn't.

For all we know, she's 16, an if she's 16, she's legal in PA, so then it's not even an "inappropriate comment about an underage girl".

Not that that's old enough for me though, i prefer them to at least be voting age or higher.

@Machete_Bear: Let's just say that Consumerist is taking an appreciated hard line against inappropriate comments about underage girls.

it's been re-listed [cgi.ebay.com]

In fact, odds are pretty good that it isn't worth all that much. Obviously, the family's fallen on some hard times, so if the house were really worth a lot more, they probably would have sold it and gotten a cheaper place--there are plenty of cheap places in the area.

So unless the bidder knows something about the house that's not in the auction listing, it's not a savvy profit-making move. There's a pretty good possibility that he or she doesn't actually understand what the auction is for, though, and like at least one poster here, is saying "Oh lol and rofl. I am buying a house and a car for a dollar!"

If that is the case, and someone bid on that in an attempt to take advantage of a family in dire economic straits, I hope there's a followup so we can make fun of that dumbass.

While I don't know the average cost of housing in Erie, purchasing that small house at the remainder of their housing loan debt sounds like a steal, to me. My sister paid twice that for her house 15 years ago and her house was in poor condition. Hell, she pissed away another 40K just fixing 'minor repairs'.

This story wasn't interesting yesterday -- after all, ebay would surely kill this nutty auction But now we got a story, seemingly. Someone with good feedback bid a dollar to take on the debt, along with a promise that the bidder can have the house and car. If the bidder is a savvy lawyer or banker, this family could be suddenly homeless -- and all for a shot at 15 minutes of fame.

@marsneedsrabbits: It was probably an 80/20 loan; more than likely, an ARM...so they have two loans on the house.

I see the winning bid was a $1. Is that for the house and the car?

@HarrisonHopkins: There is no Amish/Mennonite "movement" stuffing teenagers into gunny sack dresses and smashing their iPods. The Amish aren't shopping on eBay, Etsy or anywhere else online, and the Mennonites have the discrete wherewithal to quilt their own sanitary pads in the privacy of their own homes.

The Amish and Mennonites (of which I am affiliated) are Christian and conservative, but compared to many Christian subgroups, are to my observation frequently good-natured, cooperative, slender, and their children are typically very well mannered. They are extraordinarily handy with pork products and hand tools, and they do not proselytize, although they would want you to know the Lord.

The fact that this woman is purchasing accessories of this quasi-religious type, rather than making them herself, suggests that she may be transitioning into (or experimenting with) a more religiously conservative lifestyle. Were she a part of an established community, she would probably be buying such goods from her contemporaries. There are many semi-separatist Christians around who believe in self-sufficiency, homeschooling, and sundry other things. As in most American endeavors, despite Thoreau's warning about clothes, we tend to put on the mantle, wishing the heart to follow.

The buy-it-now price was the full $103,000 and change. That means that, if I understand correctly, after paying a hundred grand, you would get the house and car... and still owe another hundred grand to the original creditors.

On the other hand, the family would have received a bucketload of cash and walked away from their obligations. Score!

Holy shit, this is in my town! I'm pretty sure I've seen this house and it's on the West side of town.

Kind of funny to see that her husband's CC has over $3,000 on it and hers has $270. I'll bet they fell under hard times after one of the many manufacturing places here sent all their work to Mexico.

What happens when Paypal screws up the sale??

That is all.

That is all.

I confess, I looked at the ebay purchases as well. I wondered what a person with that much debt buys online.. the clothes did seem creepy..unless you are Amish/Mennonite. Last time I was around Amish folks, they didn't use the internet...maybe Mennonites do...

"Looking at her eBay purchasing history for the last few months, "

what's up with this....?

[cgi.ebay.com]

A popular move during the housing boom was to do 80/20 or 80/15 piggyback mortgages when you didn't have the cash available to put down 20%.

You'd get a better rate and not have to pay PMI if the loan was at 80% of the value of the property, so people would take out an 80% loan and then fill the rest in with a second loan (at a higher rate).

Why do people with so much debt so often ratchet it up by taking out a 2nd or a 3rd mortgage?

Whenever you see people taking additional mortgages, it rarely seems to result in actually lowering their overall debt, which makes me wonder why they do it.

So you, not the family, are the hook for all debt.

This is the same as buy/taking over car payments.

Looking at her eBay purchasing history for the last few months, she has been buying Amish/Mennonite-type clothing and bonnets, as well as sewing patterns, in sizes for adult women and children.

Hmmm... are they planning a flight to a religious community/cult where they will no longer have to be concerned with the accumulation of further debt once they rid themselves of their current burden?

@pine22: "im so tempted to bid one dollar lol" you do and you'll probably gonna win, which means that although you get their house and car, you also assume their debt (aparently, not sure how legally binding this is, or even how one would go about transferring credit card debt). Unless the house is worth less than the mortgage and the car is a beater, I'm not sure what the family is getting out of all this. They lose their house and home, but they also have nothing left at the end of the day. Unless they walk to work and start renting, they're gonna accumulate debt the very next day.

To all of you saying you paid off your debts easilly, how many kids do you have? Makes it easier doesn't it?

this is so sad.....

She's basically asking someone to take over their bills, but I'm not seeing the upside for anyone that takes them up on the offer. "Yay! I paid these people $100,000 so that I can pay off their bills! Go me!"

Collection agencies buy debt from the creditors for less than the loan amount, but that's only because they then try to collect it from the debtor. Does this mean that whoever buys the debt would have to try to collect the money from them?

anyone else noticed that 10% of purchase price is going to be donated to Hospice of Erie"... maybe there's something more going on...

well, it's hard to pay off 100K in debt if you don't have a job. you're assuming they make anything at all. I look at their pic and assume he's a slack ass who makes his wife sell their life on ebay.

How long before eBay removes this listing?

@RamV10: agreed.

The internet is not a street corner for panhandlers.

@DeltaPurser:
$4.00 insertion fee + 8.75% of the initial $25.00 ($2.19), plus 3.50% of the initial $25.01 - $1,000.00 ($34.12), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1000.01 - closing value) so by my calculations it would cost you $1574.12 for someone to take your home, your car and $35K in random debt
$4.00 + 2.19 + $34.12 + (.015 x 102,254.10) = $1574.12 Ref: [pages.ebay.com]

But creepy and funny are not mutually exclusive. (Yep, I've got a dark sense of humor.)

Seems like there would be some legal issues in bidding at all. From the way I look at it, a really generous person might bid negative 100k, and then be saddled with 3k of the family debt. If I bid the pay it now, I would be in effect, giving them 100+k to be saddled with their debt of 103k (200+k). Alas, I have little interest in additional debt, and have an even smaller amount of extra money.

Aww, darn, they fixed the OP...

Odd that no sob story detailing why they need someone to take over their debt "to prevent stress and heartache" is mentioned.

They should try harder.

Greetings, friend. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you've got the power inside you right now. So use it. And send one dollar to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay! Eternal happiness is just a dollar away.

It's too bad he's not selling that mullet, too.

although the neighborhood doesn't look too great. perhaps the value isn't that great because of it.

What sports teams do you root for in Erie, PA?
would it be Cleveland? Pittsburgh? Toronto??

I agree.
I had much more credit card debt five years ago - approaching 20 grand. I paid it off this year. And the ad was placed by the wife, not a "man". Having a house and all that and only being in debt a hundred grand seems like nothing. Of course, they are in Erie, Pennsylvania. Actually, I just looked at it again and think it's probably a plant by eBay to drive up clicks.

@Rachacha: Dang it...and the buyer took their HOME and their car...

@Katharine: They probably went to the car dealer and said "I want a car with a payment of $xxx/month and that landed them in a 6+ year loan or possibly a balloon payment. It is unfortunate as the car is only worth about $8000 fully loaded (leather, sunroof, automatic everything, chrome wheels etc. in PERFECT condition with below average miles).

The sad part is, even if someone were to "buy their debt", and the buyer took their jome and their car, the family would be back in the same situation again as the average home price in Erie PA is about $92K, and they will likely purchase another car which combined will put them back at about $103K in debt as they will get NOTHING from the sale of their home.

Amateurs. I had a little over half of that in just credit card debt seven years ago (due to a bad choice of girlfriend followed quickly by a 13-month stint of unemployement), which I finally paid off last year. I know people are desperate for quick fixes, but seriously -- put in a little hard work, bite the bullet and things will eventually get better. These people owe next to nothing compared to a lot of people out there.

The auction was likely written by the woman, not the man. From the itemized debt list:

"credit card husband's
credit card self"

And the writing style feels like "mom did it."

It's sad they feel driven to this action for relief. Their debt is relatively mild considering it includes their mortgage.

If you read the ebay posting closely you will see that it is actually the wife who posted it, only reason why I mention it is because the article says its the guy who posted.

Until eBay removes it: [cgi.ebay.com]

sorry bro'

What's curious to me is what in their situation leaves them unable to pay down 100k.

@RamV10: Too bad we don't have a "This week in comments" feature here like there is on Kotaku, because you'd get my nomination!

This kind of thing is so sad. I think RamV10 was just joking. Lighten up.