Some of the most jarring elements of this News & Observer story about the screamin’ deal secured by Mike and Mary Easley on their Cannonsgate lot in Cateret County, is contained in the last few paragraphs. I encourage you to read the entire story. Kudos to the N&O. Here’s what I found most fascinating (emphasis is mine)
Carteret County Tax Administrator Carl Tilghman said his office relies on property buyers to accurately report sales prices on deeds. It’s crucial information for the county to set tax values.
“Certainly it affects our operations, so we would not want to have false information about the sales price,” Tilghman said.
The information is so important that when someone buys real estate, the county sends a follow-up letter asking the buyer to voluntarily confirm the sales price. Most, including the Easleys, fail to respond, he said.
At the time of the transaction, Easley was required to list possible conflicts of interest as well as any gifts valued at more than $200 on state ethics disclosure forms. He did not list any gifts. Sanctions could have included his removal from office.
William S. Bost III, a Raleigh real estate attorney and an expert on ethics in the mortgage industry, said real estate clients sometimes push to have the tax stamps reflect a price higher than the sales price. It’s a practice he avoids, he said.
Sometimes a developer will do it, for example, to give a sense that lots in a project are selling at higher prices than they really are. Or a buyer might do it in an effort to lay groundwork for a higher resale price.
One thing that’s certain about such deals, he said, is that the buyer and seller are trying to hide the true sales price.
Yep. For more on the Easley saga, read Don Carrington’s investigative work here. Carrington, executive editor of Carolina Journal, has been on this story, and related Easley stories, for a very long time.
