How much would your house be worth if the Trump Organization owned it?

[Nevilledog]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/27/trump-property-inflated-values/

No paywall
https://archive.ph/2oUGi


A year offering no shortage of bad news for Donald Trump outdid itself Tuesday afternoon, with New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruling that the former president’s namesake business, the Trump Organization, had repeatedly and fraudulently inflated the value of its real estate properties.

The ruling held no shortage of condemnations for the company and for its lawyers, whose reliance on already-rejected arguments spurred Engoron to issue sanctions against them. But the ruling was also remarkable for its delineation of the scale of that inflation.

It was by no means a secret that Trump in particular had a habit of overstating his net worth. This is well documented, including in interviews where Trump announced that his net worth depended on his mood. But there’s a difference between Trump, salesman-turned-politician, overstating things to close the deal and the Trump Organization presenting inflated data to potential lenders. In one case, Trump is trying to extract your vote in a marketplace bounded almost solely by the constraints of personal honesty and free speech. In the latter, there are legal ramifications for misleading potential investors — ramifications that the judge felt should apply to the Trump Organization.

The ruling walked through the scale of the inflation undertaken by the Trump Organization over the past 10 to 15 years. For example, consider the gap in valuation given to Trump’s Seven Springs property in Westchester County, N.Y. The judge compared its appraised value with what was presented in Statements of Financial Condition (SFCs) presented to potential investors.

“Not withstanding receiving market values from professional appraisals in 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2014 valuing Seven Springs at or below $30 million, Donald Trump’s 2011 SFC reported the value to be $261 million, and his 2012, 2013 and 2014 SFCs reported the value to be $291 million.”

*snip*


The archive link only shows the valuations based on a $400k home, but you get the idea.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. And where were the banks, insurance companies, etc. that should have been doing due diligence?

[Dirty Socialist]

20. Aren't the banks supposed to get an underwriter?

And the underwriter verifies the value?

[SWBTATTReg]

24. I imagine so, plus more since more $ is involved, I'd bring in everything I could to verify

the value of said underlying assets if I were going to insure them, lend against them, etc.

.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Our houses are worth how much the Saudis will pay to bribe us.

[Wicked Blue]

3. $5 million rubles

[patphil]

11. The current value of a ruble is $0.01, or 1 penny.

So, 5 million rubles is $50,000 US.

[Wicked Blue]

18. In that case, 5 zillion rubles

[patphil]

23. Now you're talkin'!

[marble falls]

4. A dollar-twelve-ninety-eight.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

5. A brazillion $s!

[keithbvadu2]

6. Customer::: How much for that fiddle?

Music store owner::: That fine violin is $1,000.

What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

If I am buying one, it’s a fiddle. When I am selling one, it’s a violin.

[MontanaMama]

7. Eleventy billion dollars.

*stephanie miller 😉

[rubbersole]

10. Steph Head!! 👋

[MontanaMama]

12. Bingo!

😂

[rubbersole]

8. Well, if I'm applying for a loan at Deutsche Bank while Justice Kennedy's son is in charge..

...of commercial loans, it would be worth whatever the Russian mob said it was worth.

[Ocelot II]

9. However much I could get Prince Bonesaw to pay for it,

but I'm afraid I'm of no use to him so he's not a likely buyer.

[tinrobot]

13. Doing the math, multiply your Zillow value by 40

His Florida property (MAL) is worth $24.5 million according to Zillow, but he claims it is worth $1 Billion

Rounding up to $25 million makes the conversion factor about 40x the real value.

So, your $250,000 house is now worth $10 million. Congratulations!

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

21. Sheesh--I'm worth over $10 million?

When did that happen?

I gotta go borrow against that, like all the millionaires do!

[SKKY]

14. 2.4 Gagillion dollars! Suck it Bitcoin!!!

[DFW]

15. Did he pay an equally excessive amount of property taxes, based on his valuation?

I didn't think so.

[Nevilledog]

16. He appealed the $26 million assessment as too high, 3 years ago

https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/story/news/2020/11/13/palm-beach-county-bills-trump-1-48-million-property-taxes/6276817002/

[Midnight Writer]

17. $10 billion if used for collateral, a buck fifty if paying property tax.

The real scandal is he did this unchallenged for decades, and was respected and revered for his business and deal-making skill.

I'm sure that Trump is not the only successful businessman operating like this with impunity.

That is our multi-tier justice system in a nutshell.

[unitedwethrive]

19. More important is how much I would weigh on Trump's scale

Really, he just measures things in what ever way would benefit him.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

22. I can tell you how the weight number works.

He weighs 329.

He took the 2 and moved it to the beginning.

Hence, 239.

[struggle4progress]

25. For tax purposes or as security on a loan?

Dear Mr Tax Guy -- I am write to say I live in wreck. Floor leaky, roof falling in. Very very small place. Not worth more than value of land at $3000 dollars or less. Thank you!

Dear Ms Bank Lady -- Needing mucho money like maybe $10million or $11million loan please. Can use lovely well-kept mansion to guarantee. Mansion alone worth maybe $8 million, on land worth up to $6million more. Please! Thanks!