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Rossputin
07/05/05

As if taking the house weren't bad enough....

see http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--seizingproperty0703jul03,0,3062007.story?

As if things weren't bad enough for Suzette Kelo after the Supreme Court ruled that her city government could take her house and give it to a corporation, we now learn that she's going to be abused on compensation as well.

Since the city of New London has technically owned the property since they invoked eminent domain in 2000, they will only pay Ms. Kelo based on the 2000 value of the property.

Given what has happened to real estate prices in that time, a conservative guess would be that the fair price is now 50% higher, but it could easily be 100% or more. (I don't know enough about New London real estate to give a more accurate guess.)

And, the city's lawyers (who should be taken to Singapore and caned) also claim that Ms. Kelo and her neighbors have been living in a house owned by the city for several years and that the city might hold them liable for rent money!

It's hard to imagine how much more outrageous a city's behavior can be. What's hard for me understand is why there are still elected officials in office there who support these actions. Why didn't the citizens vote them out in the last election?

In any case, I hope citizens in other places learn from New London's sins and take actions to protect themselves.

7 comments

# John on 07/05/05 at 11:10

If New London believes that just by declaring it so, the property is the city's, several questions come to mind: 1)Are there property taxes in New London, and if so, who has been paying taxes on the properties since 2000? 2)If the city has not actually paid for the properties (a closing), how can the city say it owns the property? (it can say it has a coerced contract to buy, but money has not changed hands) 3)If the city believes it owns the properties without having paid for them, with no transfer of title, will the "new" owners be able to get title insurance? 4)If the property owners are responsible for property taxes, and the city has not been paying them, does the city, in fact, own the property by its own choice to not pay the taxes? 5)If the homeowners have been paying the property taxes on property the city declares it owns and the city has been pocketing it, has the city "technically" been stealing the money from the homeowners? Just curious.

# TF Stern on 07/05/05 at 14:36

In the South, lots of court houses burned to the ground, when records needed to be destroyed. Maybe the same could happen to City Hall in New London; with any luck the doors would jam and they might have to hold a special election to fill those positions left open by such a tragedy. I'm tearing up already for the loss of those poor council members who lost their lives trying to get out of those handcuffs while the fire raged all around them.

# gerryg on 07/05/05 at 18:58

Why voters don't turn 'em out is no mystery: the majority of voters in places like New London WANT them in. Cities have become havens of leftist politics, with city advocates preaching the necessity of cities for regions, all the while catering to social services consumers which do little to generate city income; taxpayers vote with their feet when elected officials ignore them, and those who remain get what they voted for.

# TrueLiberal on 07/05/05 at 20:40

The families involved should file for divorce and then both file for bankruptcy. Throw the value of the house into divorce and bankruptcy court at the same time. Use the laws to hold up the city's plans. Screw 'em.

# Lucy Stern on 07/05/05 at 21:47

Ross, What a revolting development this is. I hope some high powered lawyer will volunteer his time and rake the city over the coals and get the true market value for those houses. I hope this makes enough people mad that something positive comes from all this. I'm not sure what it will be but something has to make people mad enough to make some major changes.

# Rick Hamell on 07/05/05 at 23:09

Gresham Oregon did something similar. Took a lumber mill that had been operating for 75+ years, paid way below market value for it as it was Zoned industrial instead of commercial like all the properties around it. Declared the land underneath it an environmental hazard and sued the original owner for clean up costs that far exceeded what they bought the land for.

They then turned around, rezoned it commercial and high-density residential, split it up and made several million dollars selling it off to build a strip mall, townhouses, a grocery store, and apartments.

# LibraryGryffon on 07/06/05 at 09:33

For an idea of current New London house prices you can go to www.ecmls.com. As of early last week, there wasn't anything for sale in New London for less than $135K, and most of the properties in that town are over $200K. There is very little in the entirity of SouthEastern Connecticut for sale for under $200K these days.

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