European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sas Pitolo by Allen Cowan it of my life Jde Althen eventually got $7.000 credit for three lots which he used for the Down payment on the House and Pool in port St. Luce. The to for which we paid $17, Voois now " named at $52,000," Althen said. We were quite pleased with the Quality of work general development performed on our House. Since we have been pretty fortunate i am not in a position to offer any Good advice ,10 prospective Home  Wai advice to serve remembers stationed overseas is to buy a Homestein Florida. Since he bought his first Home site Wall has bought two More and gone to work for gds the company he bought from. Wai a former chief warrant officer Ratiram from the army in 1984 on disability after suffering a heart attack. He now uvas in Buehl Germany. To convinced that what they re doing & Good for the people Wall said. Otherwise. I could t do it. The dial Oping general is doing is fantastic. I be seen it with my own eyes. They re really doing things. I feel like it s top of the  wars involvement with gds began in 1980 while on vacation in Sarasota. Fla., when he and his wife visited Florida if you Don t like the property if you Don t like the Community you get a full refund no questions asked. You re Down there. You can cancel at hat time. If ont person went Back there and they were abused Dort you think that information would come Back and go through the command we would have been blown  he said. Frank talked of investments. He talked of buying a lot Bung a House renting it. He talked of values. Ill Mathw you Tive in rot Ida or not do you have any objection to having made your Money out of it he  did t appreciate that the buyer wanted to wait and repeatedly told him he was missing the Chance of a to mine. In a word Frank came across As Pushy. There were other problems with the presentation Frank said area real estate agents would appraise the tend at the same value set by gds. A spot Check of agents and tax offices did not find a appraisal anywhere near the Price set by gds. Some agents will not accept gds listings because the owners overpaid and want to list property for More than it Worth. Frank intimated that Florida land is a Good investment. Port Charlotte. He bought a Home site for $6,795. It was like Field All grown up with Palmetto Bushes Wall said. There were some houses in the area being built. We were about 10 minutes from the  in 1981, he bought a second lot this one sight unseen for $9,095. In 1982 he bought his third lot this one on a Lake in North port Charlotte Lor $14,195. The two lots in port Charlotte which he bought for $6,795 and $9,095, Are appraised at $2,000 each by county tax officials. The lot in North port is appraised for $5,500. Wall said he s neither surprised nor worried by the Low appraisals. He said gds will develop the property and it will have tremendous value in the Long run. He plans to Trade one lot toward the Price of a House and keep the lot on the Lake As an investment. I Don t really care what the appraisals Are Wall said. I m interested in having a piece of land and i m interested in having a Down payment. The Bottom line is. If i can t get the Price i want i la build my own Home Wall said. I m 100 percent  i that violates Federal and state regulations and is flatly contradicted in required property  reports on most Florida land state tha future value of land is very Uncertain and dependent upon Many factors. Do not expect All land to increase in  Frank said Florida landowners qualify for a $25,000 Homestead exemption. He failed to mention the tax break applies Only to houses occupied on Jan. 1 of each year by the owner. It does not apply to the raw land he Sells. Frank said All gds developments have water and sewage Hookup. But not All Home Sltes have Access to the systems. Owners in these sections would have to pay for their own Well and septic tank. Even if Central water and sewer systems Are available Extension fees run into hundreds of dollars. Frank said each Community has its own pea championship Golf course and schools. However the property report port St. Luce supplied by Frank says the nearest Golf course is five and a half Miles from the Entrance the elementary school is two Miles away and the Junior and senior High schools Are seven Miles away. Think i got took t in Owen and Cape. Jere Kimmell Are bad advertisements Lor Florida land  own Home Sltes and hate  would t be air to characterize me As a satisfied customer Kimmell said. The fairest thing to say is i m a dubious customer. And that s a charitable feeling. I honestly think i could become less  Owen and Kimmell have yet to visit the Home Sltes they bought sight unseen. They were Happy customers until they Learned in october what county tax officials appraised their property for. Owen bought a Quarter acre Homestein Lehigh acres about 13 Miles East of fort Myers for $11,000. Over the 10 years of his contract payments will total $15,783. But Lee county officials appraise his lot at $400 and nearby lots sell for $999. I think i got took Owen said. I be overpaid. I was expecting a better resale value. It s the idea behind it of paying so much for something that s so cheap. It took me by Surprise. It i had gone Down there i could have gotten it for a lot  Owen s involvement began in 1984 when he and his wife Anette then his Fiance discussed leaving Europe. We wanted a place to build a House and live together recalled Owen a former army Soldier. We saw an and for land in Florida and decided we wanted to hear the sales pitch. We sent out the card and they called and came and talked for three hours. It win t or Mir Type Sale said Owen now a custodian in the military club system in Fuerth. The presentation was Good. We talked it Over Lor about 15 minutes and decided to go for  after Anette took a loan to make a $2,400 Down payment their monthly payments Are $133. Owen plans to see an attorney to see if he can legally cancel the contract and get a refund. Kimmell a chaplain assigned to an in Frankfurt bought a Homestein port Malabar Early this year for $16,000. Over the 10-year Span of his sales contract his payments will total $21,125. But Brevard county tax officials appraise his Quarter acre lot at $3.000. Similar lots Are listed on the resale Market for about $5,000. I m vacillating Between disappointment and anger Kimmell said anger at myself for the non caution ass to jump in and do  Kimmell and his wife Bonnie became involved with gds after spotting an and in army times. He mailed in a card requesting information. The idea of owning some properly for an investment has been something we talked about for a Long time Kimmell said. We never really had any capital to do that thing and we had other monetary priorities. It was the old american dream but we had litle impetus other than to say let s do it  a gds Salesman called and set up an appointment. Thu we very very non Pushy Kimmell said. The quickest Way to turn me off is High pressure. I lust Don t do Well with that. I did t want to treat it lightly. I called the Legal assistance officer in Frankfurt and by coincidence he owned some land. He d seen it and advised us to buy. We bought a modest chunk which was As much As we could  the Al smells Quarter acre Home site near Melbourne on Florida s East Cost costs $163 per month. It was the presentation the integrity of the fellow who came to visit the Quality and substantiation of the material As Well a the confirmation from the Legal  Kimmell said of his decision to buy. Now that he knows the appraised value of his land Kimmel is asking a lawyer to get a refund and cancel the contract. Dunbar 20, Lees the stars and stripes Page