[Info-vax] Completely OT: Frank Lloyd Wright

[Bob Koehler]

In article <k691f5$c23$1 at dont-email.me>, David Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes:
> 
> I don't disagree with you in general, but, maybe investment was a poor 
> choice of words above.  What I meant was say, perhaps, I bought a 
> property because of the view, or perhaps (knowing myself) a tract of 
> land suitable for airport operations.

   I thought through that one a long time ago.  Some friends of mine
   bought a property with (they knew) a temporarily great view.   They
   knew they would loose their view when other properties on the hill
   were built on.

   My first reaction was, if I wanted a property with a great view, I'd
   have to buy the whole hill, and the other side of the valley.  Then
   I remembered the state taking some property from my grandfather to
   have an electric line built, and realized that owning the property
   did not guarrantee protecting the view.

> For someone else to decide that they want the property, and use 
> political help to acquire it, is definitely theft.  However, if a 
> highway needs the property, that is a different matter.  A highway will 
> benefit the community, and cannot be built in pieces, it needs to be whole.
> 
> I remember some city deciding they wanted a particular business, or 
> whatever, and used eminent domain to take the land off the current 
> owners.  That in my opinion was improper use of eminent domain.  That 
> was theft.

   I recall two similar cases.  A city took a commercial property
   running a popular establishment and exchanged it for a nearby
   commercial location.  The justification was that the factory being
   built on the original property benefitted the community and needed
   what were at that time several adjacent small properties to make up
   the space they needed.  The decision was upheld by the courts.

   In another case, a city took low value homes so that a developer could 
   put in high price housing.  Again the argument was that it benefitted
   the community.  That one went to the US Supreme Court.  It was
   specifically allowed by the state constitution and SCOTUS ruled that
   the federal government had nothing in place to prevent it.

   Were these abuses?  Is thier less abuse if the property is
   commercial, than if it is a home, or is a $400,000 worth of real
   estate just $400,000 worth of real estate?

> There is the chance of misuse of eminent domain, which is why some 
> people are very suspicious of it.
> 
> Another thing that is tough is "fair market value".  Say for example I 
> have a 3000 ft turf runway.  The land is perfectly flat and smooth, and 
> the grass is well developed.  To me there is significant value to this 
> land over and above just acreage.  However, someone else might just look 
> at it as acreage, and value it as such.  Would it be fair to me for all 
> my investment into grading, planting, and such to be ignored?

   What if the community needed a highway right there?  Can you actually
   find a buyer for the property as runway willing to pay the extra
   value?   Just because you value it more doesn't prove it has value to
   the rest of the world.

   We could compare the value of real estate to the value of art.  This
   really meets the fan in the Wright case.  What some people value
   as expenisve art, I wouldn't give a red penny for.  In other cases
   I wouldn't risk the generally held value of the piece on the
   chance I could flip it.

> True story.  My daughter and her husband were looking at refinancing 
> their house.  The bank sent out an assessor to set a value on the 
> property.  Now, the house is maybe 800 ft from the road.  Some people 
> value their privacy.  This particular assessor set a lower value because 
> of the distance to the road.  To this day I have not found one other 
> person, including other assessors, to agree with that logic.  So, things 
> that can be subjective can be very unfair.  (When it was challenged, 
> even the bank disagreed with the assessor.)

   I'd set a lower value, too.  More expense to maintain the driveway,
   perhaps including removing snow.  Easier for a break in to go
   undetected.  Definitely something that would reduce my bid if I
   was interested in buying it.

   And yes, I like my privacy.  That's why I close my drapes at night.
   If I could be successfull at a lower bid, I might not mind plowing that 
   snow, but I would make sure I could remove any sight barrier between 
   the road and the house.  And I would bid lower because of the cost.