A Book Worth Reading

An interesting story came to the attention of The Michigan Inspector this week. It is from the book The Pied Piper of South Shore: Toys and Tragedy in Chicago. In the book, author Caryn Lazar Amster talks about the decline of the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. An interesting quote from the book: "By the summer of 1963, white homeowners who had lived in South Shore for many years, some all of their lives, were being pushed out of the neighborhood by greedy real estate agents embroiled in panic selling. They wanted white homeowners to sell now and sell cheap--a strategy that generated sales and made a killing for the realtors, the only ones who profited from the racism and fear." (p. 131). This says quite a lot. It is important for home owners, sellers and buyers of real estate, and others involved in the transfer of real estate, that things may not always be as they appear.