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GoogleBobby Sanders hand-delivered a letter to council members last Thursday, following the August city council meeting, that requested reimbursement of the money he paid to the city "plus accrued interest and expenses."
Sanders is asking for either $120,000 or a conveyance of the city's one-half undivided interest in property located on North Main Street that Shelbyville co-owns with Bedford County.
The land was purchased from the city by Sanders in December 1995.
Officials with Walking Horse and Eastern Railroad learned last year that a piece of property was actually within the railroad's right of way. That prompted railroad officials to check for any other properties that might lay in the right of way, and the land that Sanders bought from the city was one of them. But Sanders was already starting a building pad on the lot.
City manager Ed Craig said Monday that he was glad that the city has Sanders' request in writing. The council will be meeting with city attorney Ginger Shofner, to determine the appropriate course of action.
Sanders' letter stated that he bought the land, which is located at the corner of Bethany Lane and Madison Street, for $20,000 and obtained a building permit to construct two commercial buildings.
An agreement had been struck with a prospective tenant for the use of one building and had agreed to purchase it after leasing it for one or two years, Sanders said.
"The excavation work had begun and a pad had been constructed in preparation for the first building," Sanders wrote. "Before a slab was poured, I was notified by the city manager to cease construction."
The matter involving Sanders was considered by the Bedford Railroad Authority and it determined that it "had a need for that property for storage of materials during times of track construction," Craig explained, adding that it was the only piece of land usable for that purpose.
The Authority declined to sell Sanders the property or give him an easement, therefore, he can't use it, Craig said.
According to figures Sanders presented to the city, $22,768.96 was spent buying the land and paying property taxes, an additional $6,399 was spent in "development expenses" and, along with "uncertain materials" listed by Sanders, add up to $40,922.80, most of which are a summary of expenses for the land for the last 10 years.
Sanders told the council two weeks ago that he bought the property on yesterday's market and wants to sell it at today's value.
Since the issue arose last year, the city has obtained all of the drawings from the railroad showing where the right-of-ways exist so they will know if there is a potential problem, but Craig stressed that a property owner must identify what he owns.
"We can do no more than go to the property tax records and assure ourselves that he is the owner of the property," Craig said at the time.
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$120,000 for a property that originally cost him less than $22,000?
That's simple greed. He should be compensated for his actual expenses and a resonable amount of interest. Period.
"Sanders told the council two weeks ago that he bought the property on yesterday's market and wants to sell it at today's value." I'm not sure I understand this statement. Isn't the entire basis for his claim that the property is basically useless? Then how can it possibly have ballooned to 5 times worth its original value?
Ridiculous.
Development expenses _ all that has been done is a few loads of fill dirt ware dumped on the lot.. This ia a joke!!!
The property isn't useless if the railroad is using it ... So it could be worth more, just not $120,000.
Refresh my memory.. but didn't Mr. Sanders spend time in federal prison during this 10 year period he is trying to get money from the city? And the comment, "he bought the property at yesterday's value and is trying to sell it for today's value".. that is crazy
Who did the deed search before the transaction took place? Shouldn't they be the ones responsible?
Bust on Mr. Sanders all you want, but the city took his money and sold him something that didn't belong to them. If it were your $22,768 dollars that the city had been holding for the last 15 years for a piece of property you couldn't use, what would it be worth to you? It's a larger issue when it's your 23 grand...
Let's say you bought your home 10 years ago for $50,000. Today it's fair market value is $80,000. What price are you going to ask for it ? I'm betting it aint 50 grand. Same principle applies.
Once again the integrity of the city council is being questioned. The city sold property they did not own, man up and make it right.
And if you Mr. Average Citizen sold a piece of property that didn't belong to you....Where would you Be??
He should have done a title search,this would have stopped this then. The city gave him a QUIT CLAIM deed anyone can give a QUIT CLAIM deed to any prop anywhere,all it says is you give up any claim to the prop,it doesnt say you must own it. John Doe can give a QUIT CLAIM deed to the Court House or The White House and it is all legal.Folks if you buy real estate have a title search and a land survey done,dont take anyones word. I know of a couple that had a beautiful side yard it is now a street,they took the realestate agents word on the boundry lines and now have a street for a side yard.
Hmmm "Dianatn" what in the world are you talking about???
If you sold something that did not belong to you; in the words of "tatersue" You'd be going to the pokey!!
You are correct in what you say Dianatn. Let's see if that applies to everyone. It is a shame that others don't see our point of view. I can imagine what would happen to me if I tried to sell the house next to me when I don't even own it LOL
I do not care who he is or where he has been, he was duped, by a group of people who represented themselves as owners of said property.
If any citizen were to do this they would have already been looking at the world through bars.
If Mr.Sanders had owed the city any money from the year 1995 I can assure you there would be no question as to the amount of interest he would owe, or the amount he would be required to pay!
Title search or not the city has basically untold resources available to determine boundary's especially when in their interest.
And we wonder whats wrong with our country, when each day, while not always in our community,OUR government whether local,state or federal just plain oversteps their bounds.
GOOD LUCK Mr.Sanders.
admittedly, i do not know all the details on this issue. but lets apply a little logic here:
"I do not care who he is or where he has been, he was duped, by a group of people who represented themselves as owners of said property."
are you saying the city council approached mr sanders to sell him property? i cannot recall any time in my 40 years in the area that the city was engaged in commercial real estate sales. does it not seem more likely that mr sanders approached the council to buy the property (which he believed them to own). cities own lots of small pieces of land, and i would gladly wager that there is not a single city in the state whose elected officials are familiar with every piece of property that their city owns.
"If any citizen were to do this they would have already been looking at the world through bars."
if any citizen had done this, it is doubtful they would be entertaining any thought of compensating mr sanders at all. this was a quit-claim deed which only says that the seller is conveying whatever interest they have in the property. it does not make any claims as to what that interest is. have you ever made a purchase and seen the words "as is" on the bill of sale?
"If Mr.Sanders had owed the city any money from the year 1995 I can assure you there would be no question as to the amount of interest he would owe, or the amount he would be required to pay!"
indeed, there is no question. he would be charged nothing. property taxes from 1995 have been either collected or written off. state law only allows the clerk and master to pursue delinquent taxes for 10 years.
"Title search or not the city has basically untold resources available to determine boundary's especially when in their interest."
untold resources? and what interest? i have bought property a time or two, and it has been me, the buyer, who did the spent the money to determine the title and boundaries. that is how it works. why should the city be different? because of those untold resources? those untold resources are your tax dollars. i would be mad if my tax money was spent that way.
"And we wonder whats wrong with our country, when each day, while not always in our community,OUR government whether local,state or federal just plain oversteps their bounds."
Huh?
The city DID own the prop. The rail road has a Right Of Way on each side of the track. The city did nothing wrong,Mr Sanders should have done or had a title search done. People dont think it is true but the electric,gas and water comps. all have Right of Way or easements on alot of prop. All R O W and easements are recorded at the courthouse people just need to look.
The city did not approach Mr Sanders to buy this property. It was advertised in the Times Gazette that the city was selling this land and took bids. If I were buying this from the city I would not think to do a title search.
Another question I have is where did the city get this property and how long did they hold on to it?
That brings up another issue: the property that Mr. Sanders is inquiring about that the city owns on North Main Street. They purchased this for $17,500. How long have they owned this? The city should not be holding any property. It interferes with, and slows down, development. They need to get it back on the tax roll as soon as they aquire it. If the city owns it do you think they pay city property taxes? Of course they don't.
"The city did not approach Mr Sanders to buy this property. It was advertised in the Times Gazette that the city was selling this land and took bids. If I were buying this from the city I would not think to do a title search."
i wasnt aware of that, but it seems you are correct... however, i would still do a title search. if i were buying property from my own parents i would do a title search.
I guess you maybe correct lazaru, but I was brought up to trust, at the very least, the ones who run our city. Guess I was raised by honest parents who don't think they have to second guess things like title searches from the ones we elect so close by.
Doing business is not about trust. Any good business person should do a title search when buying real estate it is just good business.if you dont you could be where Mr Sanders is now.Honesty has nothing to do with this.
The bottom line to this whole thing is this... He bought a piece of property in good faith; no matter if he did a title search or not. Tell me what would happen to you or me if we were to sell our next door neighbor's house if we did not own it... I can answer for you all... we would go to JAIL... it is simple as that.
No you would not go to jail as odd as it seems a quit claim deed is just that. it says you give up any claim that you have. The city DID own the prop and had the right to sell it.The prop had a Right of Way that was on 25 feet of the prop that cannot be used.Every house has a right of way beside of the roadway and power lines. The only fault is Mr Sanders.
According to Mr Sanders, whom I have spoken to personally, the Railroad came to him and told him when he started construction that they DID own the property and he would have to stop and take this up with the City. They told him that the city DID NOT own this to sell...
Again if Mr sanders had done a title search he would not be in this situation.
You are impossible to deal with. I would rather you not respond to my blogs any longer. If you do I will report you to this site. You must be a "past employee" of Mr Sanders LOL
let's just agree to disagree... PLEASE!?!
You can report to anyone you wish. No Im not a former employee of Mr Sanders,I have my opinion you have yours.I say again "DO A TITLE SEARCH"
LOL... you can say whatever you wish. I know the facts.. where you DO NOT... and we shall see when all this is settled out of court...
Could Karma be paying someone a visit? Is Karma real? Some might say that Karma is that what goes around comes around. Wikipedia says this about Karma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma