Blago’s wife was the realtor who brokered this deal for Obama & Rezko!!!
The price was too high for Obama, so he went to Rezko for help. Rezko’s plan was to buy the adjacent property on the same day Obama bought the house. Obama would still have to overpay, even for just the house. But once the whole deal was finished, the package would become a reasonably good deal.
Obama (or William Miceli) bought the house, and Rezko’s wife bought the adjoining lot. Then Obama got a strip of the lot from Rezko’s wife for about $100,000. This did two things. It expanded the house lot, which increased the house value. The picture shows a new fence that Obama had built along the new property line. It also made the adjacent lot so narrow, it’s unlikely anyone who bought it could make money building something on it. They might not even be able to get a building permit. So essentially the deal gave Obama a house and the use of two lots.
Michelle had the house she wanted, and the Obama’s had a house that looked “Senatorial”.
But the deal was unethical because Rezko had conferred a benefit by helping Obama obtain something he “couldn’t otherwise afford”.
And since Rezko’s lawyer actually owns the property, a benefit is still being conferred to Obama all the time he lives there.
(Note below Obama’s Mortgage was “ $903,000 over “ FM/FM Legal Limits)
But wait, there’s more! The mortgaged amount is very high.Obama Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Chicago Home Mortgage $903,000 over Legal Limit It’s so high it violates the ordinary lending rules for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, which carries the mortgage. This is probably legal, because the owners set up a complicated land trust arrangement to bypass those rules. But why? And who pays this mortgage? Why would Obama pay a mortgage on a house he doesn’t own? Does he just pay rent, while Rezko’s lawyer pays the mortgage?
But wait, there’s even more! It’s now clear the adjacent lot was overvalued by Rezko’s bank. At the time, an appraiser said it was worth $500,000. But Rezko’s bank unilaterally upped the value to about $650,000. This enabled Rezko’s wife to get a bigger mortgage on the lot. Bank employee Kenneth J. Conner found out, and complained this was mortgage fraud. Overvaluing a property to get a bigger mortgage is against the law. Conner blew the whistle, but he was fired. Now he’s suing the bank.
Conner filed a civil complaint in October with the Illinois Circuit Court in Cook County alleging he was fired by Mutual Bank of Harvey, Ill., because he objected to land appraisals submitted on behalf of the Rezkos and the Obamas, with the complicity of the bank.
After he was fired, Conner told World Net Daily that the bank and the Rezkos were engaged in “fraud, bribes or kickbacks, use whatever term you want,” to benefit the Obamas.
But wait there’s even more! Rezko borrowed money for the deal from his friend and backer Nadhmi Auchi, a British billionaire from Iraq who was mixed up in the oil-for food scandal. Auchi has a very complicated past, and he’s very litigous about any mention of his name.
Does Nadhmi Auchi effectively own or control the house Obama lives in?
I’m sure Eric Holder will get right on it.
“Obama would still have to overpay, even for just the house.”
How do you figure that? He paid $1.65m., $300K LESS than the asking price even as Rezco’s wife is paying $125K MORE than market value for her lot. He later paid $104.5K for a piece of Rezco’s lot, which thereby makes that $500K lot unbuildable, thereby conferring Obama with a view he could not have afforded unless he’d been willing to acquire that lot.
So Obama essentially paid $1.75 million for combined properties worth $2.45 million. Happens every day. Nothing to see here, folks. Tony Rezco’s just a swell guy (Obama would be happy to give you a character reference for him if that would make you happy). Can’t we talk about something serious?
I am not defending Obama and the deal was total sleaze but as far as borrowing $903,000 on a $1,650,000 sales price every lender in town will do that deal. Its 54.7% LTV and not a problem for anyone. I was a Fannie Mae underwriter, and underwriter for major lenders for 10 years and a mortgage broker for 17 years. That is a slam dunk loan. Anything below 75% LTV is a no brainer and they could get the same exact loan right now on that house. Of course its probably decreased in value at this point.
Now the sale of the lot from Rezko is another thing entirely. That needs to be investigated. Trump is right.