Written by Jim the Realtor

May 4, 2010

23 Comments

  1. W.C. Varones

    KUSI’s puny servers can’t handle the JtR-alanche.

  2. Erin

    love Turko. They need someone like him in every city.

  3. Anonymous

    Wow, those are some whiny neighbors. Doesn’t make them wrong but whiny

  4. shadash

    So let’s sort this out…

    The city has a questionable agenda to force builders to build “affordable housing”

    Builder has no intention to build affordable housing and goes out of business before they say that they’re going to build housing that isn’t profitable.

    Now someone in the city is flexing their socialist muscle not letting the “ghost home” sale go through.

    It’s time for the Encinitas officials to admit defeat. You lost, better luck next time. Let a new TAXPAYING occupant move in.

  5. littleflowermanshouldhavebuiltit

    Turko should be looking to the former owner of the greenhouses who kept the home on the affordable lot then tore it down and never built it…bet he can be found at the flower fields or in a big house on the encinitas ranch golf course…just sayin’…

  6. encinitas is correct for once

    The former owner who developed the lots (and sold to Barratt) used a State law called Density Bonus to add an extra lot or two above the standard Encinitas zoning. He made out big.

    Thus each extra lot earned him an extra $500k or so when sold to barratt.

    This state law allows you to add an extra 20% or so (unsure of the percentage…which is rounded up to the next whole lot) of lots in exchange for adding a low income housing unit/s.

    Thus, Encinitas was forced into the excessive density which they would never have approved and are very correct in standing their ground and demanding the associated low income unit.

    For once I agree with the gov….wow, it is painful to say that..

  7. pemeliza

    Probably the only buyer with any skin in the game is the one who purchased at the steps. It is kind of the ultimate irony. The deadbeats are living in their houses for free on the tab of the taxpayer and the guy who paid cash is locked out on the street. This really is the ultimate indication of what this country has become. What a nightmare. I bet the buyer can’t even get hazard insurance. What if it burns down?

  8. FreedomCM

    Damn, what whiney neighbors. If they actually care about their property values more than flapping their lips, they should have the HOA maintain the house. And if there is no HOA, they should take up a neighborhood collection and do it themselves.

    And I too agree with the city. They should hold out for the promised benefit (the affordable unit) that was promised in exchange for the added density. Otherwise, every rinky-dink developer is going to “declare BK” of their purpose made LLC that gets the density bonus in the future.

  9. W.C. Varones

    “Density bonus” = tiny lots next to low-income housing.

    That’s a real bonus!

  10. 3rd Generation

    American Brains and Egos at work with small town dimwit and grossly incompetant officials with no skin in the game calling the shots with typically disasterous and predictable results.

    “Builder” BK, then to B of A. . . Cha Cha Cha.

    http://moveyourmoney.info

    Take your personal revenge on Too Big to Fail, put them out of business the American Way.

  11. Dave

    Maybe pass the hat around the neighborhood and to the new owners of the ghost house to buy the low income lot and put up a house? Sell it off to hopefully break even and then everyone is happy!

    Now that’s thinking outside the box…

  12. justme

    2M people die per year from mosquitos. I read that on the internet so it must be true.

  13. osidebuyer

    How long would it take to trim up the non-existent front ‘yard’? an hour maybe? yes, very whiny

  14. waiting_for_ever_to_Buy

    I think there are some cheap used mobile homes for sale on 101 in Solana beach. Grab one of those things and slap in on that property and call it a day. That should solve it. Everybody wins!

  15. Art Eclectic

    If someone wants to give me that empty lot gratis I’ll be happy to build something “affordable” on it 😉

  16. Geotpf

    Probably the only solution is for the buyer of the house to buy the vacant lot (owned seperately) or a similiar property and build the affordable housing himself. Of course, if the buyer had any brains, he would have done his due dilegence and not purchased the house in the first place. Clearly amateur hour there, and a reason not to buy at the trustee auction, at least without somebody like Jim backing you up.

  17. Punky

    speaking of Barrat Homes, the remaining lots/houses are for sale at Magnolia Estates in Carlsbad. Someone thinks it’s 2004/2005 again! I’m not sure who is selling them, but the brokers held an house last weekend and I smelled a scam brewing!

  18. common-sense

    people.

    Sell the vacant house and get someone in there so it’s not some eyesore, or squatter’s dig. The City of Encinitas can then build the “affordable” house from tax revenues — with a sunset clause that after so many years, it will no longer be classified as “affordable” — and rent it out until then, with the rent going to the city. The city will take a hit on the front end because rent won’t cover all the building costs, but they’ll more than make up for it on the back end when it’s sold and the city gets the sale proceeds…and subsequent property tax revenues.

    On the second phase, Turko should “persuade” Barratt’s Pattinson to finish the job for cost (hire his former crew back) with financing courtesy of a local Encinitas/San Diego bank. Then have JtR handle the sales. I miss anything…?

    Oh yeah, buck Fank of Amerika.

  19. common-sense

    The post should’ve read: (insert caustic adjective) people.

    I’d used the less than/greater than brackets and it saw it as HTML.

  20. GeneK

    “And I too agree with the city. They should hold out for the promised benefit (the affordable unit) that was promised in exchange for the added density. Otherwise, every rinky-dink developer is going to “declare BK” of their purpose made LLC that gets the density bonus in the future.”

    The city made an agreement with the builder to allow the added density in exchange for an “affordable” unit, and it met its end of the bargain. No further concessions should be made.

    If the builder isn’t going to build the “affordable” unit, the city should use eminent domain to seize one of the unsold houses at the current market value of the empty “affordable” lot, designate that house as “affordable,” sell it at a below-market price to someone who can afford to buy it and call the deal complete. Then they can allow the buyer of the other house to move in and hand the empty lot back to the builder to figure out what to do with. If enough time goes by and the builder doesn’t put something on the lot, then seize it as an eyesore/public hazard and offer it to the HOA to make themselves a neighborhood park or playground if they’re willing to take on the expense of building and maintaining it.

  21. pemeliza

    Nice post GeneK … you should run for office.

  22. ewhac

    The story was solid. Can’t say I cared for the guy reporting it, or his impersonation of Joe Piscopo’s impersonation of Geraldo Rivera.

    So, realistically, who’s left standing to fulfill the commitment to build the affordable unit? Since BofA seized all the properties, didn’t they also acquire all the liabilities and obligations in the same go?

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