When Trump Has to Sell off Properties, Under Duress, Surprises Will Come

[MineralMan]

Nobody actually knows the real value of Trump's real estate holdings. He has lied about them again and again, and even he has no real idea of their value. The value will become known, though, when he is forced to liquidate asses to pay the half billion dollars he owes to the State of New York. Value is always what people will pay for an asset when it is on the market.

I suspect that Trump is going to be unpleasantly surprised when he finds out the true value of each property that has to be sold off. Why?

Deferred Maintenance.

Commercial and large scale residential properties owned by absentee landlords, speculators, and slumlords like Trump don't do well when they are inspected before people bid on them. Such owners take money from their properties. They don't spend money on them. What that means is that the properties deteriorate over time. When they are forced onto the market, all of that deferred maintenance comes to light. It's part of the equation of determining how much to bid, if you are a buyer. Inspections happen. Those inspections look beneath the surface of the building, so poor maintenance is discovered.

Real estate investors and slumlords like Trump will do anything possible to avoid making necessary repairs. Potential buyers know that, and insist on a thorough look in dark corners and behind painted facades. They have to assess what it's going to cost to rehabilitate a property. They will find out what is needed and add that to their calculations. It's just business, see...

Anyhow, I guarantee that Trump has not maintained his properties well. That's how he rolls. We'll all get to be surprised at the real values of his properties. Or not.

It won't be pretty.