Dedicated to the proposition that Nancy Boyda is a one termer.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Stating the Obvious

Today the Cap Journal ran a story that is, well, pretty lame. They went around and asked everyone why we were already seeing ads for the Second District seat. Well, in case you missed it Cap Journal, Nancy Boyda won last fall. It was an upset. It is one of the top 10 seats the Republicans have targetted to win next year. While it may be unusual in Kansas to see races start 18 months out, it's not nationally. This is not new. (And does anyone else wish the Cap Journal would talk to someone other than Bob Beatty?)

The fact of the matter is, Jim Ryun is on pace to double the money he raised for the 2006 cycle (that'd be close to $2.5 million). I have no doubt that Lynn Jenkins will raise somewhere between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the primary (and if she wins the primary, add $1 million to that and reduce $1 million from Ryun). Nancy Boyda will likely raise around $1.5 million. That doesn't include probably another $1 million likely to be spent by outside organizations. Yes, we could have $6 million or more spent in the Second District for the 2008 cycle. Last year, with the outside groups, that number was just over $2.5 million. AND, it is relatively cheap to advertise in the Second District of Kansas.

Welcome to a new era in Kansas.

97 comments:

Anonymous said...

$6 million bucks for second district is a joke and waste. The whole district disappears in 2010 when KS loses a seat to redistricting.

Anonymous said...

Jim Ryun or Lynn Jenkins, I don't care. We just need to rid ourselves of Boy-duh!

Jason said...

this was a great post- really!

good job!

Anonymous said...

This Democrat agrees, the CJOnline needs to dump Bob Beatty.

His quotes are little more less-than-insightful tripe that's already obvious to everyone. Plus he's out of the loop, Loomis has the inside perspective...why not quote him?

Anonymous said...

kansas will not be losing a seat.
guarantee it.
call the state party

Anonymous said...

I was in Burlington today on power plant business. I asked an official why Ryun lost. He said Ryun had seemed to lose interest in his district and that his Topeka constituent services were awful. He said he had dealt with both constituent service offices from time to time and if the Pittsburg personnel had been in Topeka he would never had lost. He said the Pittsburg office was both cordial and professional and left you feeling like you had just dealt with a friend. He said the Topeka personnel didn't seem to care after Michelle Butler left.

I don't know how accurate this information is but it did come from a high ranking Wolf Creek official.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating post about Ryun's constituent services office. I think the poster hit the nail on the head in both instances. As a former city manager, first in southeast Kansas and later north of Topeka I know for a fact that there was no comparison in the two offices. The Pittsburg office was wonderful. The Topeka office after Butler's departure was abysmal.

Anonymous said...

Ditto on the Michelle Butler observation. She was a diamond in that operation. Wise, well respected and well connected. Easy on the eyes as well.

Anonymous said...

Ryun never seemed to fully appreciate or utilize his best assets. He relied too heavily on Beltway direction.

Anonymous said...

The buzz at the state capitol says that two former Ryun staffers will be supporting the Jenkins campaign. They were said to have left the Ryun operation about the same timeframe and were greatly disappointed and frustrated in the amount of micro-managing by the Washington COS and the lack of respect from the same source.

Anonymous said...

One of the Ryun staffers that will be supporting Jenkins just joined a lobbying organization. He was one of the original good Ryun staffers, not the last crop that was put in place by the COS.

Anonymous said...

I attended a recent Boyda event in mighty Troy, KS. What an arrogant and disconnected person she is. She is all fluff and no substance.

Anonymous said...

Jim Ryun lost a valuable asset when Michelle Butler split the nest.

Anonymous said...

Michelle Butler would be a tremendous homegrown Kansas campaign manager for Ryun. But she is supporting Jenkins.

Anonymous said...

Ditto on the observations about the Ryun constituent services offices and staff.

Anonymous said...

Michelle Butler did not leave because of a micro-managing COS. The problem was higher up the food chain.

Anonymous said...

Wow...Michelle Butler was the glue of the Ryun camp.

Anonymous said...

The problem was Ryun's wife and kids.

Anonymous said...

Anne Ryun is one of Lynn Jenkins' biggest assets. The more she talks, the less votes for Ryun. Someone needs to tell him to keep her mouth shut.

Anonymous said...

Ryun's wife and kids were part of the problem but her relationship with the COS was strained at best.

Anonymous said...

What are the ex-Ryun staffers doing now?

Anonymous said...

I really like Michelle and Jim Ryun, but don't think the two saw eye to eye on Jim's level of activity back in the district. Heard Michelle was fed up with that and that's why she left. If she told people it was the COS, that was probably because she is a professional and didn't want to give any openings to be used against the Congressman. That speaks highly of her.

By the way, Michelle wanted to be COS. Was passed over for it.

Anonymous said...

Her concern was one of the reasons Ryun was finally defeated. She was a wise and professional staffer and would have made a great COS.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, from all I heard Michelle, the COS, on down the line all worked hard to cover for a lack of activity from Ryun in the district. I don't think this was a staff-level problem (for the most part).

Two things on the lack of activity, I think he was probably more active in the district than perception (though perception is reality). And, he has been all over the district this spring talking to people and mending fences.

I'm not sure who I'm going to support yet. Six months ago it wasn't going to be Ryun. But, I'm a conservative and without another conservative in the race and with him putting in the effort and making apologies, I'm leaning back toward Ryun again. Still open to Jenkins though.

Anonymous said...

Why was there such a marked decline in the Topeka office constituent services after Michelle Butler left and did she also manage the Pittsburg office that has been favorably discussed.

Anonymous said...

Jim Allen ran the Pittsburg office. He was tremendous at community relations and constituent casework. I had the privilege of working with him while I was on staff at Pittsburg State University.

Anonymous said...

michelle butler is a power-hungry witch.

whomever thinks she is something to be desired in a campaigner is woefully ignorant.

Anonymous said...

Michelle Butler is a professional through and through. The Ryun effort flagged greatly without her.

Anonymous said...

I echo the comments on Michelle Butler. What in the world was Ryun and his COS thinking when they let her go? The COS should have been the one to go.
I find it hard to believe she is supporting Jenkins, though. Word on the street is that she is meeting with the new Ryun campaign manager.

Anonymous said...

The Jenkins people think she will support them.

Anonymous said...

I dealt with Ryun's office in Pittsburg. They were great to work with. Always treated you as a friend and the guy never forgot your name. I wish I had that gift.

Anonymous said...

It was stated earlier that Jim Ryun is selling his house in DC. I was in town for some meetings last week and they don't even have a for sale sign up and houses so close to the Capital are still bringing good money.

Anonymous said...

My sister lives in DC and owns property one street over from the Ryun home. Property is not selling and what does sell is at a loss.

Anonymous said...

I used to work at the Ryun office in Topeka with Michelle Butler. She is a fantastic person. The person that thinks she is a "power hungry witch" obviously doesn't know her at all.

Anonymous said...

the ryuns have sold their house.
they did a while ago.

that's why there was/is no for sale sign up.

someone tell ryan wright to concentrate on other activities.

Anonymous said...

When was the house sold and what did it sell for?

Anonymous said...

Michelle Butler is not a witch, or any other word that rhymes with it. Michelle was not "let go." She left to run Clay's bid for Speaker, which didn't come about, but she landed on her feet anyway.

Ryun's COS was not the problem either. Constituent services in the Topeka office were not the problem. The problem was Jim Ryun didn't play politics well. He obviously wasn't a high energy guy and he didn't seem to like to schmooze, so he didn't, at least not very often. So, when the supposed "lie" about not knowing Foley story broke 2 weeks out, Ryun was about 4% of the voters worth of goodwill away from sustaining the hit.

Anonymous said...

I am not being a wiseguy and am not playing politics here. I am relatively new to this site. What was the true story about the alleged Foley "lie". I am seeking the truth here.

Anonymous said...

Ryun would have lost even without house scandal. The fact is that Boyda is a better candidate. And, she's terrible ... which doesn't say much for Ryun.

Ryun was weak candidate. But, the war had also had impact. It's going to be hard for any Republican to get elected anywhere with Iraq fiasco. The GOP cannot comeback until Bush lives office and the troops come home.

Anonymous said...

Without the TCJ "Foley scandal", Ryun would have won by 4-6 points, even with the Iraq war. The Foley matter allowed some in the media to jump all over Ryun as a hypocrit and a liar.

Anonymous said...

I will ask again: what is the true story about the Foley matter? I am a newly registered voter in this district and would like to know. I came from Nevada where Harry Reid scandals are a dime a dozen. His name is synonymous with scandal in any dictionary.

Anonymous said...

What is Michelle Butler doing now?

Anonymous said...

It wasn't the Foley scandal. It was the townhouse scandal.

Anonymous said...

Ryun defenders like to talk about so-called "Foley scandal." It's a way of blaming his loss on a gay, moderate Republican.

The reality is that the "townhouse scandal" was a much bigger deal. It is still a huge issue with the voters.

Also, I hear much criticism about Ryun's relationship with Tom DeLay than Ryun's relationship with Tom Foley.

By reading this blog, it's pretty obvious that people think that Ryun got a little too cozy with DeLay's corruption machine.

Anonymous said...

The townhouse set the stage for Ryun to be hurt by the Foley thing. Everyone I talked to who was familiar with Ryun's polling said he was 8-10 points up before the Foley thing broke and 5-10 points down within a couple days after.

For the new voter, Ryun poorly answered a question about knowing Mark Foley, and it was blown into a "he lied, then changed his story" story.

Ryun would have survived both, if it hadn't been for Iraq energizing Democrats, and Republicans having a lousy gubernatorial candidate, and Kline tanking. But, the measurable event was Foley.

Oh, and Ryun didn't even like Tom DeLay. There was no cozy relationship.

Anonymous said...

People here are really picking on Ryun's staff ... particularly his COS. That's not fair. Jim Ryun lost because of Jim Ryun (and his wife and kid didn't help much).

It's not that Jim Ryun needed a different staff ... it's that the staff needed a different candidate.

Anonymous said...

That's why the best staffers are now supporting Lynne Jenkins.

Anonymous said...

"There was no cozy relationship."

Okay. But those guys gave Jim Ryun a townhouse. Maybe he didn't like them, but he sure as hell took their favors. And, he sure as hell voted the way they told him.

Anonymous said...

What townhouse scandal? Didn't Ryun give all the docs to the Cap Journal? I thought someone, maybe it was him, said he paid $30-40k over the market value at that time.
One thing I can say with certainty-Ryun and DeLay had a so-so relationship at best that got a lot worse after DeLay played a big part in defeating Ryun's run for House leadership in 2002. There is no love loss between those two.

Anonymous said...

The owner of the townhouse was a dummy group set up by Jack Abramoff to lobby for a Russian oil company. The group maintained the appearance of being a conservative "profamily" organization. The townhouse was an office that served as a clubhouse for Abramoff and Tom DeLay's staff to hangout, plot and scheme. They sold the house below market value and at a significant loss when it wasn't even on market.

Ryun's own son is charged with being liaison with "profamily" religious right groups. So, Ryun knew this was a bogus outfit. Also, the townhouse wasn't on the market. It was offered to Ryun and Ryun alone.

Now, if say, George Tiller or Westar bought a $300k house in Wichita and turned around and gave it to Morrison or Sebelius for $250k the guys on this blog would be going nuts. But, there's a real double standard with Ryun. Somehow he's a nice guy so we're suppose to ignore fact that he took this enormous "gift."

Ryun got a KICKBACK from a Jack Abramoff front group lobbying for a Russian oil company. Spin it anyway you like ... it STINKS. Ryun is CORRUPT as hell.

Anonymous said...

And, yes the Cap Journal stopped writing about this story. But that's because the guy was soundly defeated. The reporters figured that he Ryun was gone and no longer newsworthy.

This townhouse scandal is not yet over. It will be a huge issue in 2008. The Cap Journal is going to cover this issue again as focus moves to campaigns. Ryun has a great deal of explaining to do.

Anonymous said...

The 8:35 post was written by someone totally unfamiliar with the facts. He is trying to connect dots that don't exist. How sad.

Anonymous said...

For all those who believe Ryun received a sweetheart townhouse deal, wait until it is revealed how much it was sold for. Certainly not at a profit.

Anonymous said...

53 comments, of which all but one are anonymous. Is that 53 different people who want to be anonymous or one guy who doesn't want to leave his name?
Damfino.

Anonymous said...

No matter how Ryun's defenders try to spin this thing they cannot get away from one central fact - that is, Jim Ryun is CORRUPT. He violated public trust and used office to service himself.

The voters figured that out last year. Ryun was exposed as a FRAUD. He'll never hold public office again.

Anonymous said...

To the 12:25 poster...please explain how Ryun is corrupt and used his office to service himself. Be specific, no generalizations.

Anonymous said...

Ryun took a townhouse that (1) was sold to him under value (2) was not on market ... it was only offered to Ryun (3) that belonged to a bogus "profamily" group that was created by Abramoff to lobby for Russian oil company (4) that he either knew group was bogus or should have known group was bogus

Ryun bought the house for $410k. The bogus "profamily" group had paid $429k. The group was not-for-profit (albeit a bogus not-for-profit). As such, the sale amounted to an illegal $19k conversion of charitable assets. Those assets came from Russian oil companies and other clients of Jack Abramoff.

The organization was controlled by DeLay's old chief of staff. This is the same old chief of staff (Ed Buckham) under federal investigation for crimes related to Abramoff. It is known that Buckham used this bogus group to funnel $1 million in illegal "fees" to his wife. The same bogus is also subject to RICO action for illegally funneling soft money to rightwing races.

The townhouse had previously been office to ARMPAC, which is Tom DeLay's political slush fund. Ryun had received funds from ARMPAC.

The house is assessed at $764k in 2006.

#1 It would be illegal to convert charitable assets (meaning the townhouse) below market value. It is possible that the house goes down in value. But, the only real way to determine value is to put it on market. They didn't do that. This was an insider deal between Abramoff's money, Jim Ryun and DeLay's old Chief of Staff. As an asset of that bogus not-for-profit, it should have been sold to highest bidder. There were no other bidders. Illegal as hell.

#2 Ryun claims stupidity on knowing ownership of house. While typically any claim of stupidity regarding Ryun is accurate, this is a rare exception. Ryun's kids would have known that the group was bogus. Ryun had received funds from ARMPAC, which had been housed at townhouse. And, Ryun knew Ed Buckham ... at least well enough to get an insider deal on the townhouse. So, Ryun was lying (as usual) about not understanding that he was buying house from a bunch of crooks.

#3 Ryun misled press about house. When challenged on purchase, he provided market values of another house in the neighborhood. However, that house is currently assessed at 3/5 assessment of Ryun's house. It's a smaller house, on smaller lot, in worse location. In other words, he lied again.

#4 The townhouse housed AMPAC and Americans for Republican Majority, two PACs that had contributed to Ryun's campaigns. So, it's not as if this was some anonymous not-for-profit. This was a sweetheart deal from Ryun's political supporters. He shouldn't have done anything with guys.

Now, within the GOP, Adam Taff was able to buy a $1 million home from a supporter using campaign warchest as equity. Of course, he's in prison because of this. Phil Kline's residence (for purposes of registering in Johnson County) is at office of right to life committee. Sam Brownback lives in a church (I believe it to be an Opus Dei assassin training facility). Pat Roberts lives at the Days Inn in Dodge.

The GOP has a long history of politicians with very strange housing arrangements. However, this Ryun deal is Corrupt nonetheless.

Anonymous said...

To the 2:57 poster....have you ever seen the townhouse in question in person?? If so, you know there is no yard, is on an extremely small lot and is an area of declining value. Assessed valuation is not a reasonably measure. Anyone knows that it is often not possible to get a sale price equal to or more than assessed value. Assessed value is a mechanism for tax collection only.

Furthermore, each of your points was referred to both the Justice Dept. and the House Ethics Committee who after reviewing the facts of the situation found absolutely nothing out of order, illegal or improper.

Anonymous said...

I was at the townhouse in person once for a party. Jim Ryun was bragging about how Jack Abramoff gave him such a "good deal" on the place. At least I think that's what he was bragging about. He was speaking in tongues so I couldn't really understand. Neighbor Mark Foley was there and he was drunk. He walked up to me and said "do I make you a little horny?" I said "no." He then volunteered to babysit my kids anytime. The party was catered with borsch, caviar and vodka ... courtesy of a Russian oil company.

Anonymous said...

8:03 poster...your comments have been sent to the proper authorities for analysis. Thank you for your repeated slanderous ventings.

Anonymous said...

Mr. 8:03 poster...where are your slanderous statements now??

Anonymous said...

Condo's are not selling in DC, but houses so close to the Capital are still bringing good money.

It is also easy to find their house. They have the only red door on the whole block.

Catherine Ryun was seen stuffing envelopes by the window 2 weeks ago. They might have a small yard, but it's big enough to put up a for sale sign.

Anonymous said...

12:36 poster....the townhouse has ALREADY been sold!

Anonymous said...

Can you actually slander someone on an anonymous blog? Didn't think so. Slanderous statements will commence forth with.

Anonymous said...

Where are the Ryuns going to live when they get back to Washington? Why would they sell if they thought they were going to be back there for the 2009 session and then for the Senate in 2011. Doesn't show much confidence in their part on winning this race.

Anonymous said...

Who would know the townhouse has been sold except a Ryun. Didn't think they posted anonymously. Also does anybody read the Madison Project blogs? No one ever replies to them. How boring.

Anonymous said...

The townhouse was sold for $8500 above purchase price plus renovations and those proceeds have been donated to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Anonymous said...

So he felt guilty enough to do that. Doesn't he realize this just makes him look like he did something wrong again and will put it in the news for a few weeks. When will the press release come out.

Anonymous said...

As of June 22 Ryun still owns the townhouse.

He bought it for $410,000 in Dec 2000.

Ryun is the owner and it is valued at $947,670 as of today.

This is the link:

https://www.taxpayerservicecenter.com/RP_Detail.jsp?ssl=0733%20%20%20%200043

Anonymous said...

Check one more time. DC ownership records are updated quarterly.

Anonymous said...

My name is Chris and I was formerly a reporter in Topeka. I recently checked the actual recorder of deed records and the Ryun townhouse did sell. The information from an earlier post is unfortunately correct.

Anonymous said...

Chris - if they only update by quarter, why are there sales listed through the end of May 2007 - and no Ryun sale?

Anonymous said...

Private sales are updated quarterly, realty transactions are updated daily. Please refer more closely to the website.

Anonymous said...

So Ryun probably sold it privately to Club for Growth or some other right wing group or individual. Wow what a good scam.

Anonymous said...

That's a disgusting and slanderous statement. We've notified the appropriate authorities of your conduct.

Anonymous said...

Jim Ryun sold the townhouse and contributed the proceeds to his favorite charity - a Christian running camp operated by a former Olympic athlete.

Anonymous said...

Yes, one of the previous posters said that realtor transactions are posted daily, so if Ryun went through a realtor it should have been listed, so that would point to the fact that it was a private sale. Saying it was to CFG or other group is not slander. The Ryun crowd should know that. The master of this blog is losing credibility with every post. It is OK to say bad things about Jenkins or Boyda, but not Ryun. Please.

Anonymous said...

The current assessed valuation of the Ryun property is $974,000. If he sold it for $500,000 then not sure he is a good financial type for Congress.

Anonymous said...

Assessed valuation has nothing to do with market value. Please, will you please consult a reliable realtor being spouting inaccurate information.

Anonymous said...

anonymous said, Please, will you please consult a reliable realtor being spouting inaccurate information.
I dunno. It sounded at least as accurate as the item about Opus Dei running a school for assassins at Sam Brownback's digs.

Anonymous said...

You then obviously don't know anything about property taxes. Why would Ryun let the government assess and tax his house on a value of $974,000 when it was only worth $500,000. Assessed valuations of residential properties, at least in Kansas, have to be based on or close to market prices. In fact in Kansas a lot of times the assessed value is 5 to 10% less than market value.
i.e. the market value of my house based on comparable sales might be $200,000 but it is assessed at $190,000. This keeps the assessor from having every house valuation appealed by its owner. If Ryun didn't appeal his valuation then he definetely doesn't deserve to get his job back. So please consult a CPA before you start spouting inaccurate information.

Anonymous said...

The "Ryun crowd" seems to be getting very defensive on the townhouse thing again.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Ryun sold the townhouse to the Boyda's. Wouldn't that be grand!!

Anonymous said...

I never got an answer to this in a previous post, but Ryun indicated in the Kansas City Star article that Catherine was a campaign volunteer, but on Ryun's 1st quarter report she had already been paid over $3,000 in payroll. Does the Ryun crowd have an answer for that. Ryun doesn't lie, so I am sure it was an honest mistake. It is easy to forget you are paying your daughter to work on the campaign. Maybe it was her allowance.

Anonymous said...

Perahps the $3000 was for work done in the 4th quarter of 2006. That would and could possibly have been carried forward until the 1st quarter of 2007.

Anonymous said...

If it was paid in January yes, but it was paid on 2/15/2007 and 3/01/2007. Which is about the time the Ryuns moved back from DC. Also it was paid out of the 2008 campaign account, not the 2006 campaign account. Would think if it was for work on the 2006 campaign it should be paid out of the 2006 campaign account. They had over $100,000 in the account when they closed it and transferred it to the 2008 campaign account. Probably what happend is that the Ryuns knew they would take heat for paying family members as they have done for years and didn't want the bad press.

Anonymous said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/homevalues/results?txtMaxKey=0&txtPageStartRow=1&searchType=advsearch&typeOfSearch=streetSearch&selSortOrder=SaleDateSearch&selSortOrder=StreetAddress&selSortOrder=Jurisdiction&selSortOrder=ZipCode5&selSortOrder=StreetName&selSortOrder=FullAddress&txtPreviousSearchMax=0&txtPreviousSearchMax=&txtBuyerName=&txtSellerName=&txtBuyerSellerName=&txtMinBathrooms=&txtMaxBathrooms=&txtMinBedrooms=&txtMaxBedrooms=&selGeneralUse=RESIDENTIAL&selEarliestSaleDate=&txtSearchType=SaleList&ownerBuyerName=&selLowestAddressNumber=130&selHighestAddressNumber=140&txtStreetName=d&selStreetType=ST&txtJurisdiction=11001&txtZipCode=&selLowestAssessedValue=&selHighestAssessedValue=&selLowestAssessedLandValue=&selHighestAssessedLandValue=&selLowestAssessedImprovementValue=&selHighestAssessedImprovementValue=&sdrOptions=&selLowestPrice=&selHighestPrice=&txtMinInteriorSize=&txtMaxInteriorSize=&bedroomRangeOptions=&bathroomRangeOptions=&selGeneralStructureType=-1&txtMinLotSize=&txtMaxLotSize=&txtParcelId1=&x=12&y=7

This link takes you to the DC home sales data for jim ryun's street. It is updated weekly. Please not that his neighbor Mark Foley (who he didn't know) and his neighbor former Congressman Clay Shaw (who he might know) sold their townhouses for $900,000. It also shows how Ryun bought it for $19,000 less than the Abramoff funded organization bought it for 2 years earlier. It also shows how the assessed value of the house increased during those two years, in spite of Ryun's sweetheart deal from Abramoff.

Anonymous said...

I am a Jenkins supporter and contributor but say "so what" to the Ryun townhouse. No real story there. Let's focus on the real issues and attributes of the candidates.

Anonymous said...

Everyone seems to forget that Ryun bought the house in a direct transaction, thereby saving the seller a realty fee of $34,850. That is not a big deal. I am a rancher and routinely purchase land through private transactions. I merely have an attorney review the paperwork and file my deed with the courthouse. Both the buyer and seller are able to maximize their resources.

Anonymous said...

So, anonymous says Let's focus on the real issues and attributes of the candidates.
Sounds okay to me. What real issues do we have, and what are the attributes that suggest that Mrs. Boyda (Democrat, Kansas) should be retained in office past 2008?

1. Jim Ryun is a Republican.
2. Jim Ryun sold his personal residence in Washington, DC, in a complicated transaction that nobody really understands except in light of (1).
3. Bush is evil.
4. Opus Dei trains hit men at Sam Brownback's house.
5. Jim Ryun used to live across the street from an unregistered, unindicted sex offender.
6. Bush is evil.
7. Nancy Boyda (Democrat, Kansas) is willing to stand up for her constituents and provide independent leadership, as shown by her record of voting with Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) only 97% of the time.
8. Jim Ryun is a Christian.
9. Right-wing talk radio is a threat to freedom of speech and must be restricted by the government.
10. Bush is evil.
You have to admit, it's got the potential to be a frighteningly effective campaign platform.

Anonymous said...

On the realtor fees, that's a subject the newspapers glossed over. It means the sellers recognized a gain of $15,000 not a loss of $19,000 by forgoing a realtor. So much for getting it below market value.

Anonymous said...

A realty fee of $35,000 on a $400,000 home purchase. Nearly 10 precent? I think someone needs to get a new realtor ...

Anonymous said...

Please check the math. It would be a 8.5% fee on commercial property (it was not a residence, it was a commercial office retrofitted to become a residence) on a $410,000 purchase.

Anonymous said...

Also, what is the relevance of the current valuation of the home? When you buy a home, the price can go up or down. If you live in Washington, DC, you are one terrorist attack from your home being worth next to nothing. The only issue is what the house was worth at the time and whether it was a below market transaction, and even if it was 6% commission, the group that sold the house to Ryun still did not take a loss.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with the last 2 posters. I am a real estate investor and bought 2 Johnson County properties in 2004. I purchased them both at close to market value (not assessed value). One has increased in value nearly 70% while the other I recently sold for nearly what I purchased it for. The measure is NOT current assessed value: the measure is how much relative to market value the property was purchased at. I am a registered Democrat in the mold of John Edwards but there is no real story in the Ryun townhouse issue. From what I have seen, read and researched, he paid just about what he should have paid. Given the extent of refurbishing the property took to convert from a commercial office property to a dwelling, he may have even overpaid a bit.

Anonymous said...

To provide some insight on the "string" of comments regarding the integrity of Michelle Butler, I have known Michelle my whole life. I'm employed with a Fortune 500 company in which I deal with various levels of truth and honesty on a daily basis. I regard Michelle as having one of the most ethical and honest personalities I have been exposed to in my life. Michelle's work ethic in the political world in the past 20+ years she has served has delivered sucessful results that deserve your respect. Her record speaks for its self. Michelle has always took the "high" road. Michelle's integrity is not up for debate. Pick another battle to fight, because anyone who has had experience with Michelle knows the strength of her word.

Anonymous said...

A little late, but most people agreed with you bax.

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