• Welcome to AppraisersForum.com, the premier online  community for the discussion of real estate appraisal. Register a free account to be able to post and unlock additional forums and features.

Woman Spends $18,500 on Stretch of Sidewalk

Status
Not open for further replies.
It's like I said before. Appraising vacant land is a lot more than having an opinion about the value. In this case, the buyer should have looked before she leaped. She's lucky she didn't end up with some kind of unknown hazard onsite, remediation required upon discovery. Compounding the error is hiring an attorney to duke it out with the county. The legal fees could easily exceed the sales price of the lot.

Her best bet might be to offer it to the city. Then she might be able to write the loss off on her taxes.


George Hatch
 
P.T. Barnum was right. Now this dingbat wants to sue someone for her incompetence. Gee I wonder if she was going to split her profits with the county?
 
Reminds me of the saying a fool and his/her gold are soon parted.

Gets me is that now because she didn't research the property she wants to sue every one else and blame others what a blameless society we live in today.

Ryan
 
Ms. Miller's best options for an immediate remedy in order not to increase her post-acquisition costs is to abandon the property and let the county sell it on her behalf at a future tax forfeiture auction.

These late night TV RE hucksters are smarter than you are or you wouldn't be buying what they're selling but wouldn't themselves buy!
 
Well, looks like H&BU is toll road now. :lol: :lol:

Hey, she owns a potential income producing property, right? It's got to go somewhere.

Hey, George, aren't roads public property in CA?????? What's with this thing?

Ben
 
>> a fool and his/her gold are soon parted

My question is how did they ever make the money in the first place?

A contractor stopped by yesterday to tell me his tale of woe. Seems he poured a monolithic slab for a garage and it rained. Stood a little water in the middle, and the owner threw ringtailed fit. He tried to point out that it was only a one-half inch or so, and was going to be well on the inside...never tell it. Finally, they just parted ways..couple of days later TV reporter calls for his "side of the story". To make a very entertaining story short, he invited the reporter to perform an outrage upon an orbiting pastry, or something like that, so he figures he will be drug thru the mud on TV consumer beat. I said, "Nic, you always did have an alligator mouth and a hummingbird brain, you shoulda smoozed the ole girl, not mean mouthed her."
 
Granted, this lady was a true dingbat. But like Ben, I can't figure out what Orange County thought it was doing auctioning off a piece of sidewalk to a private buyer????? This parcel should have been dedicated to the city, if not by it's previous owner, Far West Bank, then straightened out after the county was made aware of this situation when their appraiser and assessor started placing values on it. How in the devil does a stretch of sidewalk warrant $18,500 in back taxes?? Sorry, but this investor lady isn't the only one with a few holes in her grey matter.
 
Caterina,

All she had to do was a little research. Just because the county screwed up doesn't excuse her ineptitude.
 
I believe the article mentioned something about the parcel being 23 feet wide and having originated when a larger lot was divided into several smaller parcels. This substandard parcel was apparently a remainder portion, intended to be dedicated to the city. For some reason that never happened as planned. So the parcel is apparently more than just a sidewalk. It's just too small to be readily developed under the city's zoning regulations and General Plan. Had the propsective buyer just drove by and looked at the property before placing the bid, she probably would have figured it out. Instead, she thought she had an inside line on an easy buck, and got burned. Not all real property is valuable, even in Orange County.


George Hatch
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Find a Real Estate Appraiser - Enter Zip Code

Copyright © 2000-, AppraisersForum.com, All Rights Reserved
AppraisersForum.com is proudly hosted by the folks at
AppraiserSites.com
Back
Top