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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-06-13 t , �,,.. � �.�J � IN RE: VELMA B. GEBHARD, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLE Q� �' � �`*� REAL PROPERTY OWNER : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYL;�;A�1�A �_:~' f".� �; : ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION m ,�::� �:�a �' �"�� �::' � �.._ , �.., , �+ �.�. • 7'{+��� ��:,- i�-'�' (''�- :.....A:.� p�..^...� .J[�'"° • , .;i t1.d ��i ,:....✓ : FILE NO. 2013-00765 �. �°�� ° �.:_ b � �., �,� .~:, �',,,.� /—N�y � t t �•�,.-1' `w +,� $ .�:; ..�� IN RE: PETITION TO SELL REAL PROPERTY � .��.� c�.� �:a.� � ""� 4...,..,, �y. �_e� V.� � � � ViA CERTIFIED MAIL #7013 1090 0000 46�6 0733 WITH RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED RESPONDENT RESPONSE FRQM TERRY J. GEBHARDR �ON AND POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR PROPERTY OWNER,, TO PETITION AND CITATiON FgOM P.�T�TIONER�, VELMA G. CONWAYI DAUGHTER AND POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR PROPERTY QWNER And now, comes Respondent, Terry J. Gebhard, agent for Velma B. Gebhard, and �les the within RESPONSE fio Petition to Seil Real Property, and, in support thereof, sets forth the following: 1. Respondent is Terry ]. Gebhard, an aduit individual with a resident address of 402 Howell Road, Exton, Pennsylvania 19341-1716. 2. On June 2b, 2008, Velma B. Gebhard executed a Durabie General Power of Attorney. A true and correct copy of said Durable Generai Power of Attorney was submitted by Attorney David A. Baric to the Orphans Court with the Petition to Sell Reai Property owned by Veima B. Gebhard. 3. Said Durable General Power of Attorney was, in fact, drawn up by David A. Baric and was signed by Velma B. Gebhard in the presence of David A. Baric, Terry]. Gebhard and Velma G. Conway and without pressure or duress. 4. Velma B. Gebhard has been a resident of Thornwald Nursing Home since November 2011. 5. Velma B. Gebhard owns residentiai real property known as 630 Devonshire Drive, Carlisle, Pennsylvania ("Devonshire Drive Property"). 6. David A. Baric has provided a tegal description of the Devonshire Drive Property with the Petition to Sell Reai Property. 7. There is no difference of oRinion between the Petitioner and the Respondent �bout whether to sell the Devonshire Drive Pro,pe . We agree that it sl�ouid be �� 8. THE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION BETWEEN THE PETITIONER AND THE RESPONDENT RELATES TO THE TERMS AND CONDITI4NS FOR THE PREPARATION AND PROCESS � FOR THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY. W � . R P N N GR AT P A Y VEN T TA F TH M F TH PREP,�RA,�ON AND PROCESS FQR THE SALE OF TNE PROPERTY A� PROP�SED IN T!-�.E �ITa��ON DRAFTED BY DAVID A. BAR�C. 9. It is the position of the Respondent that it is in the best interest of Velma B. Gebhard for her Power of Attorney agents to have the objective of maximizing the net proceeds for the sale of the property. 10. In its present condition the 630 Devonshire Drive properly has several obvious items of negiecfi that developed over the last ten years that our mother, Velma B. Gebhard, now age 96, and our father, .lames B. Gebhard, who died May 26, 2013, at age 96, lived there. �• il. I, the Respondent, am a Registered Architect, licensed continuousty in Pennsylvania since 1972. Prior to retirement, I was the Director of Facilities Pianning and University Architect for 15 years at West Chester University of Pennsyivania. In that position, I dealt with realtors about the purchase and lease of various properties. Prior to that, I was a Project Manager in the facilities Management office of the Pennsyivania Department of Pubiic Weifare for 16 years. In that position, I was responsibie for working with reaitors in the five county southeastern region of Pennsylvania to find and participate in the negotiation to buy property and then to manage the design and construction or renovation of facilities on the purchased properties for use by developmentally disabled individuals to allow then to leave institutions and live and train in the community. My ethics, credibility and character have never been questioned in my professional or personal life. 12. The obvious items of neglect at 630 Devonshire Drive will reduce the sale value of the property. It is the posit+on of the Respondent that the return on the investment of less than $10,000 to repair those obvious items of negiect will be close to or exceed the investrnent and the properly will sefl more quickly than it will by marketing it in "A I " positfon. That is why David Hooke, the Carlisle Realtor who prepared a market analysis at the request of David A. Baric, gave a sate value range of$215,000 to $230,000 for 630 Devonshire Drive. He expiained in a convQrsation I had with him that the sale value will depend on what he caiis certain variables. One of those variables is what he calied "clean up/tou�h up." He said that he would include repair of items of obvious neglect in that category. 13. Mr. Hooke stated that, if the house were placed on the market in "AS IS" condition without those repairs, the sale value is likely to be about $215,000, and, if those items of neglect were repaired, the sale value is likely to be about $230,000. 14. It is also important to note that, in his market analysis, all of the"comparable houses" were in the same neighborhood as 630 Devonshire Drive. He, however, also pointed out that 623 Devonshire Drive which sold in November 2012 for $195,�00 is n�t_r.e_�IiXcom ap _rable to 630 Devonshire Drive because 623 Devonshire has neither central air conditioning nor 2 �/z bathrooms. It has only 1 �/2 bathrooms, thereby � lacking any type of bathroom adjoining the master bedroom. Both of these shortcomings represent high cost deficiencies. In addition, 623 Devonshire was marketed in "AS IS"condition and, therefore, had unrepaired items of neglect that developed during the later years of the elderly owner's occupancy. The realtor, the owner's daughter, originaliy iisted the property for$249,900 (perhaps, because its assessed valuation was $249,100). The listing price was subsequently reduced to $219,900 and the house �nally sold for only $195,000. 15. By contrast to Hooke's market analysis, the appraisai by S.W. Barrett Reai Estate and Appraisal Services solicited by David A. Baric is fundamentaily flawed because none of the three so called "c,�m,�ar�bles"are� in fact, comRarabie. One of them was 623 Devonshire whichr as Mr. Hooke pointed out, is not comparable for the reasons stated above. The other two properties are on the opposite side of Interstate Route 81 and clearly not in the same neighborhood. Theref�re, �arr� 's a�praisal re ort is of no value. 16. However, Mr. Baric, in Item No. 8 of his Petition to Seil Reai Property, chose to ignore Hooke's Report and, rather, to pronounce $195,000 as the property value based oniy on Barrett's flawed report and fiawed appraisal because it mimicked the sale price of the b23 Devonshire Drive property, which is, in fact, not a comparable property for the reasons explained above by Mr. Hooke in his report. The pronouncement by Mr. Baric attempts to legitimize the sale of 630 Devonshire Drive for $20,000 to $35,000 below the sale value proposed by David Hooke in his market analysis report. 17. I, therefore, take exception with using $195,000 as an acceptabfe benchmark for a sale price for 63� Devonshire because it is clearly weli betow the recommended sale value range, and, therefore, it is not in the best interest of our mother to sell her home that much below market value. 18. It is not my sister's obje�tive to maximize the net proceeds of the sale of the house. She is willing to accept an offer signi�cantiy below market vatue in order to dispose of the property quickiy. 19. By making some high visibility repairs for under $10,000, the house is likely fio sell at a price that is at ieast $10,000 higher than seiling "AS IS"and it is more likely to sell in tess time than it wili seli in "AS IS"condition. The lengthy marketing time and ultimate low sale price of 623 Devonshire is clear evidence of the likely loss in value by selling "AS IS." �0. It shouid be noted that doing repairs of obvious neglect items does n� mean perForming upgrades or updating work or even cosmetic work which are more expensive and involve more risk for return on investment. 21. The obvious items of neglect at 630 Devonshire Drive in�lude: a) water damage (due to plumbing ieak) of the wallpapered veneer plaster wails of the dining room � • b) cracking of the veneer piaster walls below the chair rail in the living room and dining room c) cracking of a veneer ptaster wall in one bedroom d) rotting of part of the wood soffit at the front and back of the attached garage e) extenslve peeling of the paint an the garage doors (which face the street) f� peeling of paint from the exterior of the frames and muntins of some of the wood windows of the house g) other miscellaneous plumbing, electrical and carpentry items 22. I x i ' h an in i V im h soi t ri mar�,4e the sale and the terms and cor�di�ions of that sale. My sister has no significant experience with real estate matters. I have 31 years of experience of frequent interactions with realtors on matters of real estate. My sister holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a ma,�or in biology and a certificate in occupational therapy. She works as a self-employed occupational therapist. My sister has no expertise, experience or qualifications wifih regard to the design of repairs, renovations or construction of buildings. She has no experience in the preparation or administration of contract documents for the specifications of any of this work. Wi�hout such documents, the owner has no recourse for work considered to be incorrect since there is no documented agreement of exactiy what is correct. My sister has no expertise, experience or qualifiCations in inspecting and determining accepfiabiifty of work according to contract documents. 23. My san is a Registered Architect, licensed in Pennsylvania since 2005 and works in practice in Philadeiphia managing projects and staff to accomplish those projects. He is 36 years old and has over 14 years experien�e working in architectural practice. He is prepared to work with me in managing repairs at 630 Devonshire Drive. 24. I have prepared speci�cations and contacted two contractors in Carlisie who say that they can do this type of repair work, some of which requires spe�iaity craftsman-like skiils. 25, I am also arranging with a moving company to move many of the items stili at the property which my sister does not want, but which have meaning to me. This witl make it easier for a contractor to accomplish the repair work in a more timely manner. The avaiiability of movers in Cariisle is limited and this is a busy season for them. However, they indicated that they think they can accommodate me. 26. Therefore, I wouid request that the Court give consideration to approval of the plan described in proposal attached below titled "TERMS AND GONDITIONS FOR SALE OF REAL PROPERTY AT 630 DEVONSHIRE DRIVE, CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA." � . ,. . This proposal is intended to be used in lieu of the approach described by David A. Baric in the Citation which he drafted which gives sole control of the terms and conditions and process of the sale of our mother's house to my sister, Velma G. Conway. 27. My sister has been on a mission since the death af our father in May 2011 to usurp total controi of ali of our mother's affairs. She has retained Mr. Baric to assist her in that mission. Attempting to control the house sale wiil be foilowed by attempts to control other matters. These attempts are predicated on having Mr. Baric characterize me as uncooperative. This ailegation is based on the concept that cooperation is constituted by doing everything her way and disagreement with her constitutes lack of cooperation. 28. My sister is using our mother's funds to pay Mr. Baric for his assistance in accomplishing her mission and Mr. Baric is accepting those payments with full knowledge of their source by, apparently, declaring that he is working in the best interests of our mother. Since �anuary 2013, my sister has paid approximately $3000 to Mr. Baric from our mother's account to pursue her mission of total control of our mother's affairs. 29. Enciosed is a proposal for consideration for approval by �he Court titled "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SALE OF REAL PROPERTY AT 630 DEVONSHIRE DRIVE, CARLISLE, PENNYLVANIA."