WTBTS Earns $795,000 of the Watchtower Grove, Lehigh Acres, FL

by ithinkisee 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  ithinkisee

  The Watchtower Grove in Lehigh Acres Florida was recently sold off. This land was purchased by the Society from some well-off brothers for about $3000 a couple of decades back (1982 precisely). It has since been bought by another JW - whom I have met personally. He still owns it. You can actually see the transaction prices and who the current owner is online.

  Check out the Hendry County, Florida Property Appraiser site:

  http://www.hendryprop.com/GIS/Search_F.asp?GIS

  Click on NEW SEARCH. In the OWNER'S NAME field, type in: "nelson,tony" (no quotes though)

  Then click RUN SEARCH.

  Click on the tab labeled PARCEL DETAILS

  There you will see the entire history of the transactions on this piece of land.

  It is interesting to note how the property was sold from WTS of FLORIDA - to the WTS, Inc.

  Any real estate pros on the list that can venture what kind of numbers gymnastics the Society went through ... if any?

  -ithinkisee

  (You can even click on the GIS MAP link and see the property and zoom in on the buildings and stuff.)
• 

  hubert

  Thanks, I'll add this to my list of W.T. properties, also.

  Here's a couple more you might be interested in for your collection.

  http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleprint/7824/-1/1/

  http://www.barkleyfraser.com/catalog_13760.html

  Hubert
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  Lady Lee

  wow

  Sales History

  Sale Date OR Book/Page OR Inst.Type Sale V/I (Qual) Sale Price Sale Party 12/14/2004 0693/0689 RR I (1) $100.00 WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY 12/10/2004 0689/0525 IC I (1) $795,000.00 WATCHTOWER BIBLE + TRACT SOCIETY OF FLORIDA INC 12/1/1986 0388/0808 I (1) $0.00 11/1/1982 0314/0022 V (0) $3,000.00

  Hendry County Property Appraiser - Roll Year: 2004
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  hubert

  Lady lee, How do you break that down?

  I don't quite understand it. Who sold to who,and who owns it now?

  Hubert
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  Lady Lee

  Check the dates

  Somebody got it for $3000 in 1982

  Then gave/donated it to somebody in 1986

  Then the WTSof Florida got it for $795,000 in 2004

  4 days later then sold it for $100 to WTB&TS

  ------------------

  I sorta wonder about this part

  Property & Assessment Values
  Mkt Land Value $59,120.00 Just. Value $379,040.00 Assessed Value $281,650.00 Total Taxable Value $281,650.00		Homestead Exempt $0.00 Widow Exempt $0.00 Disabled Exempt $0.00 Total TAX $8,462.09
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  Elsewhere

  I see the Florida WTS sold it to the general WTS for $100 four days after acquiring it. I wonder if they did that for tax reasons.
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  hubert

  Yeah, maybe they don't have to pay a sales tax, or whatever, if it is "donated" to the main printing company. Sorta like a rollover?

  Hubert
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  Lady Lee

  Now I don't know a whole lot about tax laws and nothing about the tax laws in FL but I believe the taxes are based on the value of the property and not on the sale price. I could be wrong. If it is based on the sale price then they got quite the deal but why buy and sell in 4 days. There has to be a reason for such a quick turnover. Like maybe the state laws only allowed for within state transactions and they found a loophole letting one "company" sell it to another "company where a "person" could not sell it to an out-of-state "company"
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  hubert

  What I don't get is...Why would the Watchtower of Florida want to BUY this property for $795,000? That's an awful lot of money to spend on property. Sounds fishy, to me.

  Especially when they turn around and sell it to themselves for a hundred bucks. Got to be more to this than meets the eye.

  Hubert
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  ithinkisee

  I think they sold it to the CURRENT owner for $100. Then the CURRENT OWNER probably DONATED money to the Society that equaled or was greater than the sale price when the WT of Florida sold it to the WT of NY for 795,000.

  Know what I mean? So we will never know the TRUE price the current JWs paid for the grove.

  -ithinkisee