2 Unrepentant About Selling Katrina Gift

[Injury]

Originally posted by: episodic
Kind of a strange situaton. Question - ok lets say they were legit. They get the house - live there a little while - realize they can make a mint by 'flipping' it. If they were legitly impacted, would people still be mad for them profiting? Or is it when something like this happens you are obligated to stay there forever or something? This is why I don't like gifts. . . too complicated.

Well, the thing is this took place in Memphis, and they moved back to NO. after only months of owning and never even moved in. They BEGGED for the house.

So the difference between this and your scenerio is that they pocketed the cash and skipped town, and clearly had that intention all along.

It wouldn't even be newsworthy if they lived there a couple years, got back on their feet, then sold the house and moved but stayed in the area, all while attending the church and giving back in some way.

You don't just take a gift as costly as a house and just run off like this. These people are horrible. God's wrath, Karma, whatever you believe in, nothing can qualify you for the status of "decent human being" when you pull a stunt like this.

 

[Basilisk6]

Originally posted by: tk109
I bet you they dont file and pay the "gift Tax". I bet they also dont pay the capital gains tax on it. They are going to get screwed by the IRS. After all the taxes they probably would end up with half that amount if they actually paid the taxes. Then after the IRS catches up with them they are going to have barely anything. I hope they spend all that money then the IRS comes knocking. Good luck trying to pay that off.

This whole thing is a shame for the givers. I think the church could have made better use of the money to though instead of giving the value in one chunch to one person.

Since this house was given to them by a church, it would most likely fall under "charitable gift", which means there wouldn't be a gift tax. Also, you do realize that in almost all cases, gift taxes are paid by the doner, not the donee, so it would be the church's responsibility (not sure if churches are exempt from gift taxes like other taxes, they probably are)?

In regards to the capital gains, as they lived in the house less than 2 years, they will certainly have to pay that.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser

Originally posted by: Lithium381
straight BS, should have rented at LWO LOW LOW cost to them.....this is unbeleivable

That plan backfired on another church in a bad way.

Haha.

yeah i was going to post that.

tried to find the link but as i remember it. a church paid for rent for a lady (and her 3 kids) for a year. they even gave her a job etc. but she quit the job.

well after a year they wanted to stop paying her rent and utilites (they were paying for EVERYTHING). she went to the news and threatened to sue (think she did sue) the church backed off and continued paying.

finally they sent her a letter saying they would stop paying on a specified date (6 months after the letter). she again went to the news and threatened to sue but the backlash was pretty bad this time.



to many people went overboard trying to help. sure there was some people that need it. but they just did not take the time to really think about it. givinga person a house? WTF! i can understand a no interest loan or such. but to give a person a house was wrong.

but anyway these two are going to hell.

 

[VitaminR]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Delores Thompson, who did most of the talking for her family, told the committee that she had lost her job as a nurse and that her husband had lost an import-export business in New Orleans, committee member Joy Covington said.

Importer-exporter eh? Was her husband Art Vandelay?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I doubt that it'd be hard to find a lawyer willing to take a fraud case against them pro bono.

 

[Chaotic42]

Thanks for making Katrina victims look like asses. That really aggrivates me.

As a native Gulf Coast resident, I really have to appologize for the way that my state of birth and the people in it have acted and reacted. Lately I'm not very proud of being born in Louisiana.

 

[Poulsonator]

Originally posted by: VitaminR

Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Delores Thompson, who did most of the talking for her family, told the committee that she had lost her job as a nurse and that her husband had lost an import-export business in New Orleans, committee member Joy Covington said.

Importer-exporter eh? Was her husband Art Vandelay?

Seriously, if I were on the that church board, that would have made me suspicious. You KNOW that dude got the idea from Seinfeld. You KNOW he did!

 

[ModerateRepZero]

hmmm I can't help but wonder if the church has any legal recourse....on the basis of fraud, misrepresentation, false pretenses, etc. And I agree, even *if* this is legal (though I have my doubts since it seems that the couple told some lies in order to get the house), it's certainly unethical to turn around and sell the house without even living in it.

 

[TXHokie]

They better watch it next time a thunderstorm rolls around. God works in mysterious way.

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: DainBramaged
That PISSES me off so much. God, how I wish I could beat the sh!t out of someone.

:thumbsup:

 

[Horus]

Originally posted by: akshatp

Originally posted by: episodic
Hmm - if someone gave me a house that I could instantly make over 10,000 dollars on. . . .

choices. . .

Although, I'd be deeply appreciative and would grant interviews and explain I bought a house elsewhere. . . thank the church, etc. O yea, I would not have lied or anything either.

They didnt "MAKE" 10,000 on it. They made the whole $88,000 as the church paid for the house. It wasnt like the church found them a home at a good price and made them pay for it, they GAVE them the house. And thats how they showed their thanks.

I'm sure God will repay them..

I'm sure god Won't repay them...because, y'know, he works in mysterious ways and stuff, I suppose. Maybe they'll win the lottery. I hope so. That would just prove once and for all that God doesn't exist.

 

[Baked]

God wanted it that way.

 

[Kanalua]

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
Well despite being scumbags, what they did isn't against the law. They were given a free house by the church and if they decided to sell it, the church can't really do anything about it. When something is gifted over to another person, they can do what they want with it even if it wasn't for the reason intended. There were some 9/11 families that took donations and ended up going on shopping sprees.

Should have given a life estate in the home.

 

[codeyf]

Morally deficient people? Yes. Law-breakers? No.

 

[mercanucaribe]

So what's the big deal if they sell it and buy a new house? What if the church had give them cash? Would they have to keep the money in a big chest to use as a chair? It may be rude to sell a gift, but it's not morally wrong.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: ncircle
awesome display of selfishness!
:thumbsup:

QFT.

 

[TravisT]

Well, that was pretty rotten. I wonder how young the couple is. I made a dumb decision when my dad gave me a car at the age of 18. I drove it for probably 6 months, but then decided to sell it and get something else. The car drove on both natural gas and gasoline. It is certainly valuable now in terms of saving money. I wish I still had it, I ended up selling it back to my dad.

 

[KK]

I wish it was legal to go around and kill tards like this. We don't need people like this in this world.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Basilisk6

Originally posted by: tk109
I bet you they dont file and pay the "gift Tax". I bet they also dont pay the capital gains tax on it. They are going to get screwed by the IRS. After all the taxes they probably would end up with half that amount if they actually paid the taxes. Then after the IRS catches up with them they are going to have barely anything. I hope they spend all that money then the IRS comes knocking. Good luck trying to pay that off.

This whole thing is a shame for the givers. I think the church could have made better use of the money to though instead of giving the value in one chunch to one person.

Since this house was given to them by a church, it would most likely fall under "charitable gift", which means there wouldn't be a gift tax. Also, you do realize that in almost all cases, gift taxes are paid by the doner, not the donee, so it would be the church's responsibility (not sure if churches are exempt from gift taxes like other taxes, they probably are)?

In regards to the capital gains, as they lived in the house less than 2 years, they will certainly have to pay that.

I'm a tax CPA, and pretty sure this so-called "gift" is taxable as income (not a gift). The first $80k is "other income" (similar to winning a raffle or prize etc.), and the $8k on the sale is short term cap gains (taxed at ordinary rates).

The church merely needs to issue them a 1099-misc reporting the $80k. If they don't report it on their income tax return the IRS will come after them.

Fern

 

[AdamK47]

They got the house as married but sold it as single. They could have divorced and wanted to sell the house to go their seperate way. Just a guess.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: Basilisk6

Originally posted by: tk109
I bet you they dont file and pay the "gift Tax". I bet they also dont pay the capital gains tax on it. They are going to get screwed by the IRS. After all the taxes they probably would end up with half that amount if they actually paid the taxes. Then after the IRS catches up with them they are going to have barely anything. I hope they spend all that money then the IRS comes knocking. Good luck trying to pay that off.

This whole thing is a shame for the givers. I think the church could have made better use of the money to though instead of giving the value in one chunch to one person.

Since this house was given to them by a church, it would most likely fall under "charitable gift", which means there wouldn't be a gift tax. Also, you do realize that in almost all cases, gift taxes are paid by the doner, not the donee, so it would be the church's responsibility (not sure if churches are exempt from gift taxes like other taxes, they probably are)?

In regards to the capital gains, as they lived in the house less than 2 years, they will certainly have to pay that.

I'm a tax CPA, and pretty sure this so-called "gift" is taxable as income (not a gift). The first $80k is "other income" (similar to winning a raffle or prize etc.), and the $8k on the sale is short term cap gains (taxed at ordinary rates).

The church merely needs to issue them a 1099-misc reporting the $80k. If they don't report it on their income tax return the IRS will come after them.

Fern

I like your way of thinking

 

[Pepsi90919]

the church gave the property to them. it is theirs to do whatever they want.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
the church gave the property to them. it is theirs to do whatever they want.

Yea, you're right. Say hello to them in hell for me.

 

[mwmorph]

Times like this I really hope Karma exists.

 

[mugs]

If they sold the house to buy a different one in a different area then it's not so bad, because the church is ultimately buying them a house somewhere. But they should have been up front about not wanting to live in that area, and their attitude now is really terrible. What's sad is that they have kids who are old enough to understand the situation.

That is if her story is true, and she and her importer/exporter husband Art Vandelay are really displaced Katrina victims.