Between 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 homes in
North America. Not finished houses; they were built-it-yourself deals. Think Ikea
dressers on steroids. You’d flip through their catalog and choose a floorplan
from more than 370 designs in a wide range of sizes and architectural styles. You’d
place your order, and everything you needed to build the home would arrive by
railroad car. You could then hire professionals to complete the project, but
more often than not all your family, friends and neighbors would just show up
and pitch in. They were called Sears Modern Homes, because most of them
included the very latest in comfort and convenience: central heating, indoor
plumbing, even telephones and electricity. Sears offered financing; usually 5-
or 15-year mortgages at around 7 percent. So many people defaulted on these
loans during the Great Depression, the company had to liquidate $11 million in
bad debt. Sears stopped offering mortgages in 1933.
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