Someone (everyone?) seems to be missing an important point concerning the school system's sudden (and belated?) interest in buying part of Northgate Mall. The stories I've read are trying to convince me that Mr. Issa somehow sneaked in and snatched that most excellent deal right out from under their oh-so-deserving noses.
The question I ask is, Why didn't the school system do something about buying the old store when it was first offered for sale? Stories state that Bassam Issa was buying up properties out there last year; what were the school officials doing at the time?
I'm not experienced in real estate matters, but I understand there are such things as offers to buy, options to buy, earnest money, etc. Did the school folks ever do any of that in this case?
I also know well that in most selling and buying situations, it's first come, first served. The first buyer who meets the seller's terms and hands over the money gets the goods. Try telling the man who just sold a nice 2018 Cadillac for $5,000 that you really really wanted the car, you really really need that car, but for one reason or another just hadn't gotten around to talking to him about it. And try telling the person who bought such a good deal that he has to sell it to you now for the same price he paid. It doesn't work that way; don't expect any pity from either of those people.
I don't understand the hostility against the actual buyer here; if he bought the property on his own initiative and schedule and with his own money, his reason for buying it and what he does with it now is his own business and none of yours. If you want to buy it now, it's his prerogative to set the price. Take it or leave it; if you don't like that price, shut up and walk away. Don't expect any pity from him.
And to complain about a private individual perhaps possibly profiting at the county government's expense - oh, that's just silly. The county government profits at my expense every year that goes by. The county government looks at my home (or at their paperwork on my home), conjures up a figure that they claim is fair and is absolutely not debatable, and then taxes me on that imaginary value. The city government then says, "Oh, yeah, me, too." and hits me with its own bill for that much more. Oh, you know who gets the biggest piece of all that tax money? The Hamilton County Schools, of course. And we all know not to expect any pity from the assessor, the county, the city, or the schools. Can't pay your taxes? Too bad; we'll just take the whole thing away from you. Get out, and good riddance.
Any honest person will admit that 'the schools' or 'the county' won't lose any money no matter what they buy or what they build or what they pay for any of it. The schools will just whine louder and longer, and the county will eventually knuckle under, and the honest citizens' tax bills will be arbitrarily increased to pay for whatever new folly the schools and the county want.
So, as I see things, if Mr.
Issa does somehow make a profit by selling his part of Northgate to the county schools, I'll be one of those who actually pay his price. I don't necessarily like it, but beyond writing this letter, there's really nothing I can do about it.
Larry Cloud
Lookout Valley