land deal clouds county election

[Francois K. Gregoire]

Jim Smith land deal clouds county election
By Will Van Sant, Times staff writer
In print: Saturday, June 21, 2008

When the Jim Smith land deal exploded into view last summer, conventional wisdom was that the scandal would overshadow Pinellas County's 2008 elections.

But on Friday, as qualification for the ballot closed, just two candidates linked to the controversy remain: County Commissioner Karen Seel and property appraiser candidate Pam Dubov, who worked for Smith.

(full story)

Dubov, who has never answered questions before about the Smith deal, did so for the first time Friday, a day after she resigned her post as deputy property appraiser in Smith's office to campaign.

Dubov said she warned Smith the public would look askance at the difference between the appraised value and the sales price.

In the Aug. 26 primary her opponent is Frank Gregoire. A private appraiser for 30 years, Gregoire, 55, said Dubov should have gone public with her feelings about Smith's decision to cut a deal with the county.
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A plethora of Stories on the Jim Smith Land Deal HERE

vote4frank.org​

 

[Jim Hill]

Frank you have my vote.

Frank:

I live in Palm Harbor and when I vote it will be for you.

The reasons I will vote for you are many.

I have always thought ethics are very good quality to have along with knowledge and being professional in the way you conduct yourself.

I have watched and read about the work you have done on the state appraisal board and I believe you are the right person for the job.

I have seen many people who went into goverment for all the right reasons but once they were there forgot about the people they were there to represent.

I also followed the Jim Smith story and thought that he crossed the line and in many ways forget all about his ethics and only saw the dollar signs instead.

In life what to have any of us really have other then our word and our ethics.

I am sometimes reminded of this when I talk with other appraisers and the subject of comp checks come up and they inform me that they would never do them except for their very best customers.

I am not sure how you can only have ethics some of the time and only in certain cases.

Once we loose credibility what do we really have left in life?

Jim Hill

 

[c w d]

Oh come on Frank. You've got to go along to get along....dontcha know? Besides, stuff like this never gets past her......oops, except this one. I'm sure it was because it was an overly complex deal where sales price and assessed prices weren't readily available.....wait....it was a matter of public record and the local newspaper noticed it whose job isn't specifically to watch for stuff like this. She did ask one person in private if this deal was "handled properly". Obviously, she had the best interest of the public in mind when she saw a deal for property worth 4 times less than its sale price to the county. She questioned it! "Is it handled properly?" What more do you expect of her, damit?!? Was she supposed to recognize the inflated value? Only the experts, we call them appraisers, know how to value properties. Wait, she was an appraiser to. Perhaps it was a commercial property and she wasn't qualified. I'm sure thats it. Come on Frank! Stop trying to rile up support by making seemingly corrupt individuals look irresponsible!!!!

 

[Mike Boyd]

I am sometimes reminded of this when I talk with other appraisers and the subject of comp checks come up and they inform me that they would never do them except for their very best customers.

I am not sure how you can only have ethics some of the time and only in certain cases.

Once we loose credibility what do we really have left in life?

Jim Hill

Whether one does comp checks or not is NOT an ethics issue. It is a USPAP violation if the rules are not followed. Following the rules is time consuming and most of those loan agents asking for them are really asking you for a guaranty. Those I throw away immediately. "The very best customer" is usually not expecting a guaranty and truly wants to know if the borrower has enough equity for the loan to make sense. You have to be very careful, though. I lost one VBC last year because the mortgage broker misinterpretted a statement I made and the final value came in below what he interpretted as my "guaranty."

 

[Jim Hill]

Mike Boyd

"The very best customer" is usually not expecting a guaranty and truly wants to know if the borrower has enough equity for the loan to make sense. You have to be very careful, though. I lost one VBC last year because the mortgage broker misinterpretted a statement I made and the final value came in below what he interpretted as my "guaranty."

Mike just wondering how much you charge for a service like this?

I understand what you are saying about USPAP and keeping a file on this type of service but I also understand many other appraisers I have spoken with do this to keep their best customers happy but yet would never do this for just any lender.

Sorry I disagree with you but I do see a problem and a conflict here.

Jim Hill

 

[c w d]

Sorry I disagree with you but I do see a problem and a conflict here.
Jim Hill

What's the conflict? The differences in value from comp check to appraisal report? Sure, both are technically appraisals. But, it falls to the scope of work. Every opinion of value can be USPAP complaint. But, not every USPAP complaint opinion of value is the most accurate.

 

[Francois K. Gregoire]

Jim Hill

Not quite sure how this became a "comp check" thread

Jim, please check your PM. Thanks

Frank

 

[Jan Roseberry]

Jim -- It would be nice if you wrote a testimonial letter for Frank and sent it to the local newspapers. Well said! That's effective in Ohio, not sure about Florida.

I have great admiration for anyone willing to make a plunge into the political arena. The Zoning and Architectural Review Boards are my limit! And, my limits are tested with membership. One must remember the differences between the public and private work force.

 

[Thomas N. Morgan]

Frank,

When I read you were going to run for the job, I was a little bit worried that maybe you had taken on too much, from a political point of view. Did you know, or suspect all this when you announced?

I am one of your admirers from a distance, having attended a FREAB meeting years ago, not long after your appointment to FREAB by Jeb Bush, and having read many of your early posts on this Forum. .

I worked at the Property Appraiser's office here in Marion County some years ago, and have served as a Special Magistrate to the VAB for 4 years, so I have some idea of what you are up against, once you assume the office of County Property Appraiser.

Pinellas County is very fortunate.