The Chicago Sun-Times reported on November 5 that “[i]n June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood [Illinois]. The state’s junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot. Both closed on their properties on the same day.” The Sun-Times further reported that “[l]ast January, aiming to increase the size of his sideyard, Obama paid Rezko $104,500 for a strip of his land.” The Sun-Times also noted that “[t]he transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves from him.” As the Chicago Tribune reported, on October 19 Rezko pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he “leveraged his influence with state leaders to extort illegal payments and a campaign contribution from investment firms seeking to do business with Illinois.”
In its published interview with Obama, the Sun-Times asked how Obama “[was] able to buy [his] parcel for $300,000 less than the asking price,” to which Obama replied that he and his wife, Michelle, purchased the property from a motivated seller:
Our agent negotiated only with the seller’s agent. As we understood it, the house had been listed for some time, for months, and our offer was one of two and, as we understood it, it was the best offer. The original listed price was too high for the market at the time, and we understood that the sellers, who were anxious to move, were prepared to sell the house for what they paid for it, which is what they did.
Moreover, the Sun-Times reported that in response to the question of whether Obama’s real estate deals with Rezko “display[ed] a lack of judgment” Obama stated that, regarding the purchase of his home, “everything was handled ethically”:
With respect to the purchase of my home, I am confident that everything was handled ethically and above board.
But I regret that while I tried to pay close attention to the specific requirements of ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented by my purchase of the additional land from Mr. Rezko. It was simply not good enough that I paid above the appraised value for the strip of land that he sold me. It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor. For that reason, I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it.
The November 17 AP article, which focused on allegations of corruption involving Rezko and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, noted that “Rezko’s business dealings have been tied to other politicians” including Obama and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL). The AP reported that “[i]n one Rezko-related transaction, Sen. Barack Obama got a bigger yard and Rep. Luis Gutierrez bought a town house from Rezko for much less than his neighbors paid. Neither Obama nor Gutierrez have been accused of wrongdoing.”
http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200611240001
So the original statement that...
> Obama bought the Rezko property for $104,500 —
> $520,500 less than Rezko’s wife paid for it.
...is not true. He bought a strip of it for that price, and we can’t tell how much of a discount that amounts to (if any) without knowing more about the relative sizes etc.