You ask a difficult question. I suspect that your link at 7:38 answers the detailed questions.

But at the higher level, why would the Rezkos make such a purchase, where they spend almost $1million, and can’t even legally get to the tangible asset?

Many others have asked this question before me, and the answers point to influence/obligation, and little else.

I make a lot of noise about this, because I think it shows a severe problem that we all should avoid.

Obama’s record is weak and short. He simply does not have the qualifications to be even a State Representative, let alone US Representative, Senator or President.

He clearly owes people, and has not yet mastered any of the methods of keeping such people beyond arm’s length (and yet still in easy reach)

His economic and foreign policy ideas are naive.

Obama really is the “New Coke” candidate.

windansea on March 6, 2008 at 8:08 PM

I gave a link to that story in this comment earlier today.

It could be nothing – Just Rezco handing out more candy all over town, but it is intesting that, like Obama, she has a very fuzzy memory of what happened, particularly as to how Rezco became involved.

The big issue for me is still why the sellers structured the deal the way they did. Were they asked to do it?

the real estate person got recommended for a job but did not get it, not sure where I read this

windansea on March 6, 2008 at 7:26 PM

The lot in question was purchased by Rezco’s attorney, Michael Sreenan, and is up for sale again – with the same real estate broker involved in the sale. She is racking up a lot of commissions on this deal – not that there’s anything wrong with that :)

Here is convenient Media Matters story which includes a transcript of a Lisa Myer/NBC “web only” report whose video is no longer available.

Thanks George Soros!

Arbalest on March 6, 2008 at 7:12 PM

Gawd- I screwed up. I was thinking that the original asking price was $1.65 million.

He paid 1.65 million which was $300,000 less than the asking price.

I think this website will interest you since it calculates Obama getting $939,000 in “favors” which is kinda what you are saying.

The big issue for me is still why the sellers structured the deal the way they did. Were they asked to do it?

This should all be a matter of public records.

“boneheaded” does not cover this

Where I am from, a lot with no access is worth nothing unless someone gives you an easement. That’s why this lot was originally to be sold with the house. It wasn’t that the lot was worth $625,000 of the original 2.6 mil, the lot was worth nothing. barry got alot more then a $300,000 discount, sounds like he got 1.3 mil from his buddy rezko.

peacenprosperity on March 6, 2008 at 6:39 PM

zactly my point

Your numbers of $1.65 million and $1.3 million bring up an interesting question: which source is correct?

Your source suggests that Obama was able to make the purchase mostly on his own. Mine suggests otherwise.

The TimesOnline article reports that in June 2005, Barack Obama buys his mansion for $1.65 million, $300K below the asking price, on the same day Mrs. Rezko buys the adjoining vacant lot for $625K.

The appearance is that the Rezkos made the Obama purchase possible, and to the tune of about $1million: $2.6M asking – $625L (garden) = $2M. $2M – $300k – (points/fees/etc) = about $1.65million. This is about the same number the Times generated. I see a lot of obligation involved.

Is the TimesOnline correct? Perhaps they made a typo, swapped a source, . . . . . .

If your number, $1.3 million, is correct, then the events may be unrelated. Alternatively, there’s another $300k to be accounted for.

It wasn’t that the lot was worth $625,000 of the original 2.6 mil, the lot was worth nothing.

With no access to the property except through bordering sites, the market for the lot would be comprised of the owners of the lots bordering it. That is a buyers market to the extreme.

Now the appearance is that Rezko arranged with the realtor to buy the lot which, coupled with the $300,000 discount, made Obama’s purchase possible: $1million (due to Rezko), not a $300,000 not-clearly-explained difference. Implicitly, the realtor gets the same amount of money either way.

Mr. Obama says he never used Mrs.

Rezko’s still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn.”

Where I am from, a lot with no access is worth nothing unless someone gives you an easement. That’s why this lot was originally to be sold with the house. It wasn’t that the lot was worth $625,000 of the original 2.6 mil, the lot was worth nothing. barry got alot more then a $300,000 discount, sounds like he got 1.3 mil from his buddy rezko.

Arbalest on March 6, 2008 at 5:36 PM

Okay, I gotcha. I think :)

The only thing is that the $2 million number is too high. It was 1.65 million (and he got it for 1.3 which is closer to 1 than 2). Therefore the $2.6 million number doesn’t really work.

I also don’t know that you can say that Rezco got Obama the $300,000 discount.

Here (in bold):

“Furthermore, Obama has Rezko to thank for his mansion in south Chicago. In the summer of 2005 Obama had just been elected to the Senate, and wanted to buy the luxury home. It should have cost around $2 million but the realtor wanted to sell it together with an adjacent undeveloped lot, which would have cost another $625,000 — too much for Obama. Then Rezko’s wife got involved. She bought the piece of land at the full price, while Obama got his house for a $300,000 markdown.”

This doesn’t seem spectacularly new, but all previous narratives indicate $1.65 million and then talk about the garden. The linkage is never spelled out this way. That the realtor originally wanted to sell them together ($2.6million) is never mentioned, at least I’ve never seen it mentioned, until the Der Speigel article.

The previous appearance has been that Rezko bought the garden and also (somehow) arranged for Obama to get a $300,000 discount.

Now the appearance is that Rezko arranged with the realtor to buy the lot which, coupled with the $300,000 discount, made Obama’s purchase possible: $1million (due to Rezko), not a $300,000 not-clearly-explained difference. Implicitly, the realtor gets the same amount of money either way.

This links Obama and Rezko much more closely

“Three weeks later, Mr. Obama bought a house on the city’s South Side while Mr Rezko’s wife bought the garden plot next door from the same seller on the same day, June 15. Mr. Obama says he never used Mrs. Rezko’s still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn.”

this makes the Rezko’s buying of the lot even more misterious, who buys a $625,000 lot with no access?

Where are you getting this from?:

It seems that the real estate agent who sold the house to Obama originally wanted to sell the house AND garden as a unit (about $2.6million, not the $1.65million that keeps getting mentioned). Rezko’s wife bought the garden for $625,000, and somehow Obama got a $300,000 discount on the house.

From this version of the story, it looks like Obama is into Rezko for closer to $1million than only $300,000.

This?:

Furthermore, Obama has Rezko to thank for his mansion in south Chicago. In the summer of 2005 Obama had just been elected to the Senate, and wanted to buy the luxury home. It should have cost around $2 million but the realtor wanted to sell it together with an adjacent undeveloped lot, which would have cost another $625,000 — too much for Obama. Then Rezko’s wife got involved. She bought the piece of land at the full price, while Obama got his house for a $300,000 markdown. An act of friendship? Corruption? A normal move in the world of real estate tycoons? Obama said in 2006 and repeats to this day that is was “a boneheaded move.

Where does it say that this property was originally intended to be sold as one large piece?

I don’t see anything new here, except the mention of a realtor as if this was her decision to break the property up, and not the sellers’ (or anyone else).

It does seem to me that a key to this lies with the sellers and their realtor, particularly the decision to break the property up into 2 lots with the odd provision that the closing for both properties be the same day.

This has the potential to be quite a circus.

“Pointing out that Obama sent a staffer to observe to the opening session of Rezko’s trial, the Clinton camp is considering sending a representative of its own to watch out for Obama dirt during the proceedings.”

Clinton camp keeping an eye on Rezko trial
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Clinton_camp_keeping_eye_on_Rezko_0304.html

I suspect the FOO (friends of Obama) within the press corps will start reviewing White Water looking for a pot and kettle angle.

“When the begin eating their own, pass the salt”

As a prelude to his March 6, 2008, article Yes way. Chicago’s conduct code is a priceless legacy, Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass appeared the night before, March 5, 2008, on CNN with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck. The following comes from the show’s transcript:

KASS: He’s the fellow who helped — he helped buy Barack a house. Barack didn’t have the money to pay full price. Let’s see, he paid — Barack paid, asked him for less than asking price, $300,000 less. Rezko’s family paid the asking price for a house — for a lot next door. They kind of put it together, and Barack still hasn’t been answering questions as to exactly what happened.

BECK: Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait. So when — when the housing prices were still really good…

KASS: They were high.

BECK: … he paid — he got a $300,000 discount. And Rezko bought the property next door at $300,000 more? Or something like that.

KASS: Yes. Something like that.

http://rezkowatch.blogspot.com/

From this version of the story, it looks like Obama is into Rezko for closer to $1million than only $300,000.

In Chicago, just how much influence does an essentially un-payable $1million debt get? How and when is the debt finally paid off?

In reading this TimesOnline article, it seems that Obama’s pal Tony Rezko (the supposedly-broke guy on trial) has received, between April 2005 and the end of 2007, about $21million from Nadhmi Auchi (an Iraqi billionaire).

$20million can get a lot of projects started in many districts, and handle a lot of personal loose ends for superdelegates. Just elect the right guy, the guy with too many obligations.

I have this suspicion that the Rezko trial will cause Obama to crumble. It’s just a matter of asking the right questions to the guy who’s unused to answering tough questions.

I guess we will see how much teflon Obama is made of

Teflon? This stuff will stick to him like napalm if it turns out he is just another Chicago politician on the take.

Slopping the public trugh with dola is the Chicago way.

I’m learning!