Posted on 03/07/2024 7:32:07 AM PST by Starman417
In December 2020 I had to put my home on the market and move 1,000 miles away. Two months before I’d considered refinancing my mortgage and the bank gave me a valuation of $285,000. I thought it probably should have been higher but didn’t really feel like taking the time to look into it because I wasn’t really that worried about it.
Suddenly in December I was forced to worry about it. So I reached out to a realtor friend (an actual realtor, not a guy with a side gig) and asked him to give me an estimate. He thought it would probably sell for about $305,000, maybe $315,000 tops. Again I was skeptical, so I started doing my own research. I looked at my community, what was available in my county, what comparable houses were selling for and taking note of the neighborhoods, roadways, schools etc. After all of that I estimated my house was worth about $400,000. I thought it could possibly sell for $415,000 or even a bit more.
We put it on the market at $405,000 and ten days later it was sold with the buyers offering $395,000, and we eventually settled for $400,000. I was confident it could have sold for more but exigent circumstances made the logistics of waiting impossible, which is sad because had I waited 12 months to sell it I would likely have gone for $550,000, almost twice what I’d been originally offered.
All of this to say that in the world of real estate there are a million different factors that go into valuing something and based on those criteria, there are likely countless different values that can be set on a particular property. What’s more, values can be volatile, particularly in the high-end markets.
Real estate, like most businesses, can be unpredictable, sometimes very much so. Which makes what NY AG Letitia James has done to Donald Trump so unconscionable. In the primary element of James’ indictment: “’Trump and his company used “false and misleading” financial statements, her lawsuit alleged, “repeatedly and persistently to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, and to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums.’”
One would imagine that some banks or insurance companies lost money because they loaned money to Trump or Trump defaulted on them. They did not. Indeed, the loans were all paid back, with interest. There were literally no victims and banks still wanted to lend to him!
But that didn’t matter. The bottom line is that, according to James, Trump used one set of books for getting a loan and another set of books for taxes. But that’s not how this works.
When I was selling my house the county tax collector assessed my home at around $200,000. It had been that way for years. Indeed, it’s very common, particularly in red states where they concern themselves with controlling taxes, for the government assessment of the value of a property to be substantially below what it might sell for. That didn’t impact what I might refinance it for or what a buyer might pay for it. In those cases the lender sends someone out to do an inspection and then comes to its own conclusion as to what value it would be willing to assign the property for the purposes of a loan.
In the case of Trump, in 2011 the local property assessor in Palm Beach County had valued his Mar-a-Lago property at $18 million then $27.6 million in 2021. AJ James indicted Trump because he valued the property at higher valuations during this time, up to $739 million for collateral purposes, and therefore using a fraudulent valuation to obtain loans he wouldn’t otherwise get. But here’s the thing, according to a banker involved in the transaction, the bank followed its own guidelines to make the loans, stating “I think we expect clients-provided information to be accurate. At the same time, it’s not an industry standard that these statements be audited. They’re largely reliant on the use of estimates,” so bankers routinely “make some adjustments.” To highlight the disparity, this past December a high-end Palm Beach real estate broker stated that in 2021 Mar-a-Lago would have been worth slightly more than $1 billion and likely would have valued it at $655 million in 2011.
The point here is that Trump was simply doing the same thing that millions of homeowners and businesses do every single day across the country. They make the best case scenario for the value of their property of business while knowing that a banker or lender is going to make their own determinations before deciding how much they will lend.
That’s business. Valuations are just estimates, and they can be all over the map in business.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
Target Trump, then make up a crime to fit. Today’s Democrats are channeling an evil man from an evil time.
“Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”
Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s secret police chief
The Government of course.
.
I am ashamed of Democrats and we who allow this travesty to persist. Are there any good men in this nation willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with this man and fight for America?
The truth really hurts some people so they dog to death their idiotic mind to circumvent the absolute truth for their reprobate mind. You can just see satan ALL over this and them.
So, unlawful people of many states who think they have some hold on an office holder or level of government to line their own greedy pockets, if you do not repent (IIChronicles 7:14) you will not see revival and continue flooding your swamp with smutty fake untruths that in your heart you know is absolutely wrong. What happens when you sue us for all our money and property? It’ll be so dark that the money will be for nothing that will bring you ANY joy or peace. Go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only God!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are moving toward a Stalinist criminal justice system. Find me the man and I’ll tell you the crime.
It’s happened with the full weight of Letitia and the state of NY,the do rats and the Obamanites .
Anything to get their man.
Now, unwind the damage
That’s their “democracy” they want to protect.
Can’t have a protest in DC anymore.
Notice?
AG James is already using the same law to charge a Beef company because she thinks that it can’t meet its zero-carbon net emission goal for 2040, and thus is engaging in fraud by saying they are trying to do so.
That’s a lot of weight.
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt.
Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.”
― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
So, the State of New York owes Trump Organization a RE tax refund... based on their claims— because the tax appraisal of the properties is higher than the loans he got and paid back. Funny how that works. Instead they sue to get MORE because their own appraisers are screw ups or... LIARS!
This was a very good example/assessment of supply versus demand. According to many, our government is broke, treading water with Trillions in debt. Market conditions often have to do with a local environment, current economic conditions and availability of money to lend. How many people do you know that save for years and pay cash for a home? Not many.
As a retired Commercial broker (held license in four states) of 20 years and a former University Real Estate professor I know how market value is derived. Agents rely heavily on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Once in awhile when sales are slow there are little surrounding properties being sold to base a price on.
Therefore alternative means include insurance replacement costs, current price per sqft construction costs and even expanding the sold search to a defined region. Counties always seem to assess prices lower depending where you are. Having lived in Palm Baech County (broker also) demand seemed to support local selling prices.
In the time we live, I would recommend getting three selling price quotes from agents, different companies and compare with the county assessment. You might even get your own appraisal. Be careful of online fraudsters who just want your information. Do not overlook 1031 exchanges depending on what kind of property.
Additionally, you can sell on a Promissory Note held by you with property as collateral. I always include a home warranty as that is a selling benefit. (I am not offering financial advice) do your own due diligence.
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