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Northstar developer using bait-and-switch tactics

September 20, 2024

In the sales world, there is a tactic known as bait and switch, which makes customers think they're getting a good deal until they find the deal is not what they thought they were buying.

Northstar developers are packaging affordable housing along with much-larger, more-expensive housing as a way to get around Sussex County Council, with the smaller, affordable piece (94 homes) compared to the 758 more-expensive homes planning & zoning can approve without county council. The advantage for the developer of packaging affordable housing with the more-expensive piece allowed the builder to jump ahead of other projects and cut many months off the normal processing cycle.

It is also clear the real benefit for the developer is the 758 expensive houses – not the 94 affordable houses – can be approved without going before county council, which can be a long and tedious process. By packaging the two together, the developer can fast track the expensive piece while the affordable piece drags through the normal council process. Thus, we see the bait (affordable housing) and the switch to expensive houses where the developer makes big money.

And here's the final kicker: the folks in the affordable houses will not be allowed to access the swimming pool or clubhouse of the more expensive homes even if they are ever built!

Dave Jaeger
Lewes
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