Escape the Financial Apocalypse - on Craig's List

We thought the category "Housing Swap" on Craig's List used to be for people looking to swap spaces over holiday breaks. Thanks to this awful housing market, however, swapping has become a permanent solution for folks who need to move but can't sell. For instance, some dude in Minneapolis wants...

By Deirdra Funcheon

December 18, 2008

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We thought the category "Housing Swap" on Craig's List used to be for people looking to swap spaces over holiday breaks. Thanks to this awful housing market, however, swapping has become a permanent solution for folks who need to move but can't sell.

For instance, some dude in Minneapolis wants to move here and send you there. Another needs a home in Wellington and is willing to trade for 5+ acres in Colorado. An apartment in NYC, however, costs at least two Lantana condos.

I couldn't resist calling one Craig's List poster named Tawanna Thompson, a single mother of six (6!) kids. She explained that she was recently laid off, that none of her childrens' fathers pay child support, and that she just took in her drug-addicted mother off the streets. She's looking for someone to loan her money so she can pay overdue rent to the mobile home park and avoid eviction. This good Samaritan is welcome to hold the title to her trailer as collateral until the debt is repaid. Thompson also needs a job -- and says she can do cleaning, hotel/restaurant/cashier work, or medical coding & billing. Come on, H. Wayne Huizenga, throw this lady a life preserver from your mighty yacht.

-- Deirdra Funcheon

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