Letters to the Editor
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Is the land deal as simple as the Obama's have said?
It has been reported that the Obama's paid the appraised value of the 10 foot wide strip to Rezko's wife. I am left wondering if simply pro-rating the appraised value is just too simple.
Can the now smaller neighboring lot be built on according to the applicable zoning laws? Is it now undersized and therefore will require a variance to be built? How complicated or expensive would that process be? Will the required yard setbacks necessitate that a new home on the lot be smaller than the typical homes in that neighborhood and so the land is actually worth less than the original purchase price minus the amount the Obama's paid to Rezko?
If it has become at all difficult to build on the remaining land, do the Obama's effectively get the benefit of having bought the entire parcel (no next door neighbor) without having to actually buy the entire lot? I'd feel better if somehow, the transaction made the remaining parcel more valuable to the Rezko's and then this is simply a good investment among friends. I can't help myself in asking these questions - I used to be a real estate appraiser, which we always called more art than science...