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Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

businessinsider.com

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Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#21

Post by geebee »

mikeash wrote: post #7
smrtinsert wrote: post #3

Boo-hoo. That couple deserves the social karma coming to them.

What sort of karma do the decades-delinquent homeowners deserve?

I'm ok with some karma for the deliquent homeowners, but I see no reason why this should turn into a giant cash prize for a private citizen.

I have noticed that people who support the buyers tend to point out the problem with wealthy and powerful people getting special treatment. I'm against that, but it doesn't remove my distaste for making money this way.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#22

Post by ryanackley »

overcast wrote: post #6
tom_mellior wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's really shocking is that a "private street" is a thing.

I mean, if you own land, and a street is on it. It's private, yes?

No. In most places I have lived in the USA, streets are not only public property but they regulate what can be placed within so many feet of the side of the road. So basically, they restrict your land use next to a road, even if you own the property. This is so they can add a sidewalk or expand the road at some point in the future.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#23

Post by tomnipotent »

iaw wrote: post #14

I don't have much personal sympathy for anyone involved in this story. From a principled standpoint however, this appears to be a violation of property rights. It is highly unlikely that 'normal' people would've been able to reverse the transaction the way these residents did which makes me root for the clearly predatory real estate schemers. There's no moral party here it's just a question of what type of society yo…

> clearly predatory real estate schemers

How are they predatory? They purchased a parcel of land on a government-approved website through a vetted legal process and followed all the rules.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#24

Post by dpflan »

hodgesrm wrote: post #11

The transaction was fully legal and similar to hundreds of others in the area where investors buy properties with delinquent taxes. I would have more sympathy for SF and the families on the street if they were actually working to change the screwed-up bureaucracy that allowed this sale to happen. However, this seems to be a case where money talks. There's nothing to prevent it from happening again or to protect San F…

This is interesting; the couple bought the street which has a privacy gate - do they own the gate too? Is is possible that they owned the street but could not legally access it (by not owning the gate)? Does that affect the case/transaction? I'm not familiar enough with the details.

> Overhead View: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Presidio+Terrace,+San+Fran...

> Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.788234,-122.4593631,3a,75y,2...

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#25

Post by harryh »

I'm sympathetic to the idea that rich people are being treated differently here. That's almost certainly the case. It's also, of course, always fun to see a bunch of rich folks get some kind of comeuppance.

But, to me, it's also pretty clear that the original owners were in the right here. You shouldn't be able to lose something worth $90,000 because of a small administrative oversight without some kind of notice from the government about what is going on. The world shouldn't work that way for anyone, rich or poor.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#27

Post by geebee »

tomnipotent wrote: post #23
iaw wrote: post #14

I don't have much personal sympathy for anyone involved in this story. From a principled standpoint however, this appears to be a violation of property rights. It is highly unlikely that 'normal' people would've been able to reverse the transaction the way these residents did which makes me root for the clearly predatory real estate schemers. There's no moral party here it's just a question of what type of society yo…

> clearly predatory real estate schemers How are they predatory? They purchased a parcel of land on a government-approved website through a vetted legal process and followed all the rules.

Patent trolls generally follow all laws. There are all kinds of legal ways to make money that I find extremely distasteful.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#28

Post by harryh »

clamprecht wrote: post #17

I see this like I see a bug bounty. The bug is the fact that they were able to buy the property at all under those circumstances. Their bounty "reward" should be that they can keep the property that they rightfully bought. And now the public is aware of this problem ("bug") and can move to prevent it from happening in the future.

A bug bounty os a program run voluntarily by the owners of a service.

This is more like exploiting a security hole and then claiming a moral right to your gains.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#29

Post by ProAm »

EtDybNuvCu wrote: post #13
michaelchisari wrote: post #9

This is the biggest takeaway for me: The couple didn't know what Presidio Terrace was when they bought it

They are, as the article explains, real-estate investors who do not always examine properties before purchasing them. The couple knew that Presidio Terrace was in a nice neighborhood and seemed to be very well-priced, and they also were bidding in many auctions, so that they probably would not have cared about precisely which properties they acquired.

And there were others bidding on it as well, it wasnt a secret these people just happen to win the auction.

Re: Couple that paid $90k for a private street in SF is forced to give it back

#30

Post by geezerjay »

tom_mellior wrote: post #4
vkou wrote: post #2

What's really shocking is that the tax bill for a private street in one of the hottest property markets in the world is $14/year.

What's really shocking is that a "private street" is a thing.

Is it that shocking that people may own real estate sold by the state?
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