One property in particular, 1523 10th Street, was right across the alley from my house growing up. The valuation of this property is currently $360! (I didn’t miss any zeros there). A bid of $200 was made for that property.
It is kind of comical that the School District is putting up a fuss here. As Commissioners Chairman Terry Tomassetti (friend of my older brothers as well as my brother-in-law Phil’s cousin) highlighted, the difference in real tax revenue realized between the bid and property value on the books is $1.10.
"We're really not talking about anything of significance," Karn said Tuesday when recommending commissioners vote to sell to the bidders. "Chances are, if it's in the repository, there's not a lot of demand for it."
Kind of tough to dispute that. Oh, I also enjoy the use of the term repository here. I think I could come up with a more colorful term to refer to this collection, mixing in adjectives like decrepit, unkempt, shabby, or slummy.
I am struggling to recall whether 1523 was the house directly across from ours (the one that in the 70s was owned by the young couple that had the Red Corvette) or was Mrs. Moses’ property. If it was the latter, I wonder if that $360 includes the value of the 25-30 Wiffle and kick balls that Mrs. Moses confiscated from us over the years? Wonder whatever became of that stash?
The Moses property was just adjacent to home plate in our Main Alley Wiffle Ball Field – only 10 feet away or so. So naturally during game play, the ball might end up on her property, which was like a fortress with bushes, garage, and fences guarding the well-kept postage stamp lawn and garden. It was always an adventure to be tasked with covertly retrieving a ball from that yard. If the old lady was out in her yard, you could kiss that ball goodbye. Her daughter also lived with her (she was probably in her late 50s). The daughter was more pleasant and would at least wave to you from time to time, but she could give a good lecture as well.
$360. In case you were wondering, I ran some numbers. If you were interested but weren’t able to come up with the lump sum to buy that property, you shouldn’t sweat it. At today’s ultra-attractive interest rates from Quicken Loans, you could finance that $360 with a 15-year note at 3.375% for a monthly payment of $2.55. Of course, you could also pay a couple of dimes extra each month against the principal and pay it off before 15 years. (Probably will want to be careful about those hidden closing costs there though.)
