Notice of Sale (WHS)

[MountainMan]

In hindsight it's easy to criticize the County Commissioners, but at the time there seemed to be interest from multiple sources, prices were going up and up, and the county needed to be able to keep the old school to use until the new one was completed. The new school was under construction, but not completed. I think at least one of the potential buyers was only interested if they could buy and take control at that point, and the county was trying to figure out a way to get a commitment and still use (lease back) the building for another year or two. There didn't seem to be a rush or a need to make too many concessions, since "everyone" assumed the land would simply be worth more in another year or two.

We all know how that ended, and looking back it may seem foolish, but there were quite a few millions of folks across the country that got caught up in the same mindset at the time -- bankers, home buyers, investors, developers, etc. etc. IMO, the County Commissioners and Jim Deal were honestly trying to do what was best for Watauga County (not ASU or any other party), but between the timing of the new WHS construction and the peak of the real estate market, the county lost out.

[bcoach]

In hindsight it's easy to criticize the County Commissioners, but at the time there seemed to be interest from multiple sources, prices were going up and up, and the county needed to be able to keep the old school to use until the new one was completed. The new school was under construction, but not completed. I think at least one of the potential buyers was only interested if they could buy and take control at that point, and the county was trying to figure out a way to get a commitment and still use (lease back) the building for another year or two. There didn't seem to be a rush or a need to make too many concessions, since "everyone" assumed the land would simply be worth more in another year or two.

We all know how that ended, and looking back it may seem foolish, but there were quite a few millions of folks across the country that got caught up in the same mindset at the time -- bankers, home buyers, investors, developers, etc. etc. IMO, the County Commissioners and Jim Deal were honestly trying to do what was best for Watauga County (not ASU or any other party), but between the timing of the new WHS construction and the peak of the real estate market, the county lost out.

This is not in argument as you have some very valid points. You point out some factors that may have handcuffed their decisions. There were also thousands of real estate professionals though who stopped buying and advised our clients not to buy. We knew that it was a bubble about to burst. We advised all our clients who were sellers to sell and sell now. Those folks are now retired and living well. We had many discussions that started out " why are you doing this" with both buyers and bankers.
There are different circumstances for each situation but I just did want to make it clear that there were many who knew it would not and could not continue.

[Mountlenoir]

Speaking of bubbles, maybe off topic, but here's a good read on the potential next one:

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/12/28 ... ng-market/

Universities continuing to grow and spend is concerning.