27 Kendrick Place (Not to be confused with apartment building of same name)
A little less than two years ago then Finance Director Sandy Pooler purchased the little house at 27 Kendrick Place for $5,000 over the minimum asking bid of $220,000.
The house was left to the Amherst Housing Authority by former Select Board member and 30+ year UMass German language professor Eva Schiffer. And according to her last will and testament the house should be sold to a town employee at 60% of its market value (at the time appraised at $307,000).
When that did not work out the AHA went to probate Judge Linda Fidnick who ruled it was okay to simply sell the house outright as long as the proceeds went towards assisting low-income families.
After the sudden death of Town Manager John Musante, when the town was still reeling from his loss, Mr. Pooler announced he was leaving for a job in his hometown. Fair enough. Who does not like working for their hometown?
But now the property he purchased for the bargain basement price of $225,000 is on the market for $350,000. Thus even if he put $20,000 into the house over the past two years, a pretty healthy $100,000 profit wouldn't you say?
Ms. Schiffer would not be pleased.
31 comments:
If she had put it into a trust this result could have been prevented. The house could have been rented and the proceeds used to support affordable housing. Too bad.
It hasn't sold yet, that is just the asking price.
Thou shall not be jealous of thy neighbors good fortune. Tacky, very Tacky!
Fair is fair, but does leave a bad taste in ones mouth.
And he's no longer my neighbor.
That's capitalism baby!
Even in Amherst.
Who would have thought.
He should pay the taxes on the amount that is capital gain and donate the rest to the Survival Center and Craig's Door.
Honoring the great Eva's legacy perhaps he would offer a Right of First Refusal to a town employee for a reasonable cost plus profit margin.
Capitalize much?
Power to the people-to make an easy buck! Good Show Old Man.
"Capitalize much?"
only when you pay me.
Don't hold your Breath.
The judge should have honored the woman's last request.
Shame on her...shame on her.
it doesn't seem right. Maybe if Mr. Pooler does manage to sell the house at a big mark-up over what he paid, he could make a big donation to support affordable housing in Amherst.
& btw, has Mr. Pooler even been living in the house much? Isn't his primary residence (where his family also lives) in eastern Mass? I thought that one of the reasons he decided to leave Amherst.
Hi Cinda
Of course the other winner is the Jones Group, who could make $21,000 on deal
(6% of 350,000)
I tend to agree that all the winners--Pooler and Jones family--should donate profits to AHA
Get a grip people! The judge made the ruling. You could have bid and bought the house yourselves. Don't even know the man but it is his property to do with as he sees fit! Sheesh, Amherst once again shows it's ugly thought process.
Old man-MYOB-got it?
Cinda has a thoughtful proposal, which I agree with and support.
Now … how to make that happen?
Rob
Cinda has a thoughtful proposal, which I agree with and support.
Now … how to make it happen?!
Sure. I always take the advice of Cowardly Anon Nitwits.
@1:46 - good idea! And a competent tax attorney might suggest a way that he can donate some fraction of the house value to Craig's Doors so that they get some of the capital gain and he pays less tax on the remaining gain….
Probably not CAN's like you.(
This is more than fair, it is appropriate.
The guy owned the house right? That is all you need to know. When someone owns something, by definition, it is up to them what they do with it. This is a great lesson to teach kids that seems to be lacking locally.
Selling it for a little or a lot is obviously included in this ownership right. Very Obviously.
Why on earth would we question this action in any way?
Now the fact that the original owner's wishes were not followed because of political BS, well that is just outright theft and disrespectful, anyone involved in stopping these wishes from being carried out should be shamed out of town.
American profit on stuff you own makes me want to fly the flag higher, folks that take issue with this might was well wipe with that same flag, they have already disrespected all of us and those that came before us.
Not respecting dying wishes, just disgusting regardless of the law. Leaving your house to the town expecting them to do anything right, well perhaps the person that died with poor planning dug her own grave on this one. Who on earth would trust folks in government with anything important, their track record is awful and has been for centuries. I think it is time to accept that the local government is a jobs program for these folks that could not hack it in the private sector....the sector that if hired to take care of the wishes on this house....would have followed through....end of story. Government involved, no end of story.
This post is also ironic. Because the blog is making money off of ads off of this story. I believe you should profit off of this, but there is still irony because you imply that legit profit is questionable with your question mark or including the post at all.
If it bleeds it leads.
Actually, about two thirds of my traffic is from Google searches bringing them to previous posts over the past nine years.
Like it or not, what Mr. Pooler is doing is legal and is on the up and up. The court made the call and that is what we are stuck with. I don't blame or judge him...anyone with the money could have bid, and the time to do it has passed. If he chooses to donate some profits, kudos to him. If not and there are no probate or deed restrictions, so be it. That's capitalism, free trade, life. Even in Amherst.
Agreed. And Sandy is an all around nice guy.
But I can't help wonder what the reaction would now be if it had been Jamie Cherewatti who flipped the house.
Hard to believe it's worth that much. Good luck Sandy.
and did he ever actually live in it? Just curious (he bought it, he can sell it even though it's kinda sad wrt Eva's wishes). Looks like a rental now (is it on the rental registry?)
Yes he lived in it weekdays and returned home for the weekends. Or something like that.
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