'Worthless' homes selling
Saturday, March 20, 2004
JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
Worthless? Think again.
Dow Chemical Co. has reported more than 50 homes along the Tittabawassee River that have sold at or near market value since state regulators declared the floodplain a hazardous waste "facility" in February 2002.
The survey did not include the entire river, but rather a slice of the floodplain south of Gratiot in Thomas, James and Saginaw townships.
Dow officials say the sales prove that properties along the Tittabawassee are not worthless, as claimed by nearly 170 residents suing the company for dioxin contamination.
"We know that properties have sold at or above market value," said Kathleen A. Lang, an attorney for Dow. "That directly refutes or negates the claim that those properties are worthless."
A property list provided by Dow shows that homes have sold between $36,000 and $198,000 in the survey area. Some homes sold up to $3,000 more than the listing price. Others sold $10,000 below it.
Jan P. Helder, an attorney for residents suing Dow, said the sales don't matter. The homes still are worthless.
"There is a distinction between value and price," he said. "Price is what somebody pays, whether they are informed or not. Value is what the home is intrinsically worth.
"The fact that someone has been duped into paying more for a house than what it is worth doesn't mean that the worth has changed," Helder said.
He claims the sales stemmed from misinformed buyers. Either sellers did not disclose dioxin on their property or Dow's "disinformation campaign" convinced the buyers that dioxin was harmless, he said.
Helder maintains that pollution of the floodplain, which links to Dow, has erased the value of Tittabawassee River properties.
Barbara Muessig, owner of Barbara Muessig & Co. real estate in Freeland, doesn't buy the "worthless" argument. She said dioxin has not spoiled her business along the river.
"I haven't had any problem with it," she said.
Muessig sold a home last month on the river and said the market remains strong for riverside homes despite the contamination. She doesn't worry about dioxin and said she frankly is tired of hearing about it.t
Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.
© 2004 Saginaw News.
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.