SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street

Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by spaceflunky on Monday August 07, 2017 @12:46PM (#14948901)

While I'm glad you pointed out that that this is a shitty thing to do, I still think its a slimy thing to do regardless of whether it's done to the rich or poor.

A couple things to note:

(1) if the couple does win, then it only bolsters someone else's case to do something similar elsewhere. When it happens in a poor neighborhood and people are up in arms, guess which case will get cited.

(2) there's no way in hell this is going to stand. there are probably mistakes that were made in not notifying all the homeowners of the sale. the homeowners are too rich and too powerful to not find some kind of loop hole.

(3) that couple is in for a world of legal hurt. if they choose to fight they're going to rack up a shit load of legal bills. it's them vs 40 rich people. yes, $90k for the street and $5M in future legal bills. even if they win, they'll be buried in legal bills. And then when they do try to collect parking fees, the homeowners are going to hassle them for every dime. if the couple thinks the homeowners are just going to roll over and merrily pay them any amount of money for parking, they are sorely mistaken.

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by mikeash on Monday August 07, 2017 @01:03PM (#14949070)

I suspect that poor people get screwed over all the time by failing to pay property taxes and having their property sold at auction. And nobody else cares, because it's just part of life.

This isn't "be careful what you wish for, it might happen to poor people too." This is, "some rich people finally get the tiniest taste of what life is like when the entire system isn't rigged in your favor."

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by dmode on Monday August 07, 2017 @12:53PM (#14948980)

My bet is that the couple is hoping that rich homeowners will pay a pretty penny to buy the land back from them

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by spaceflunky on Monday August 07, 2017 @02:49PM (#14950121)

That's 100% their plan, but a stupid idea. Don't pick fights you can't win.

There are 40 homeowners who would rather drag that couple through legal hell out of spite than pay a $1 parking fee. And they have the wherewithal in spades to do it.

Even if the couple gets passed all that, the homeowners are going to complain about every little thing. Crack in street? Fix it. Curb crooked? Fix it. Someone illegally parked? Deal with it now. Trash on street? Clean it. Leaves on street? Sweep it now. Grass too long? Mow it immediately. Don't answers these calls immediately? Get accused of negligent landlord.

If the couple thought they could just kick their feet back and collect checks... I just don't know what to say...

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by softawre on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:07PM (#14950283)

They could drag it out, but they may all agree to give up 10k each (==400k) for a nice profit.

Why pay lawyers here? Spite?

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by spaceflunky on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:34PM (#14950519)

Pretty much. I doubt the couple has even $100k to spend fighting this. So why pay the couple $400k when you can pay $400k to a lawyer and have the satisfaction of "winning."

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by ryandrake on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:48PM (#14950657)

They had $90K to buy it but not $100K to defend in court?

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by spaceflunky on Monday August 07, 2017 @04:05PM (#14950812)

IMO this kind of investment seems like the thing that someone with more than $190k would not be messing around with. But maybe they do, but would you spend $100k defending a $90k investment? Or to put it another way, if the HOA rallies up all 40 property owners to spend $20,000 each fighting this, is it worth it to outspend a $800,000 legal war chest to protect a $90,000 investment?

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Re:SF residents get a shock: Someone bought their street by ryandrake on Monday August 07, 2017 @06:01PM (#14951629)

> But maybe they do, but would you spend $100k defending a $90k investment?

If I thought I could successfully "flip" it for, say $500K, which is pocket change for the affected people in that neighborhood, then sure, $190K would be a bargain. And if the 40 property owners could kick in $20K each to sue the investor, surely they'd rather kick in $10K each to buy the street back instead.

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