John Edwards’ “slummy” neighbor sells property
Via reader Jon Ham, Don Carrington at the Carolina Journal has an update on Monty Johnson, the Giuliani-supporting neighbor of John Edwards whom Elizabeth Edwards derided back in April as as a “rabid Republican” with “slummy” property.
Johnson’s moving:
Win or lose in the presidential campaign of 2008, John Edwards will have one thing to cheer about: That pesky Chapel Hill neighbor that his wife complained about last spring will be gone.
Last April, Elizabeth Edwards made national news when she criticized the family’s across-the-road neighbor, Monty Johnson, for pulling a gun on trespassers and for not maintaining his “slummy” property.
“I don’t want my kids anywhere near some guy who when he doesn’t like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out,” she said at the time. “It scares the business out of me.”
Johnson, however, has sold his 42 acres, which contain occupied mobile homes and deteriorating buildings located directly across the road from the Edwards 100-acre estate just outside Chapel Hill. Johnson and his family have moved to South Carolina.
On May 9, Chapel Hill businessman Cowan Griffin, doing business as KCAJ, LLC, gave Johnson a written offer to purchase the property for $1.6 million, the exact asking price that Johnson had placed on the property through a “for-sale-by-owner” real estate listing service.
Johnson said Griffin did not try to negotiate on the sales price and did not seek to inspect the property prior to purchase. Johnson said he accepted Griffin’s offer to pay $1.1 million at closing and pay the remaining $500,000 due on or before May 31, 2008. The sale was completed on May 29 and Johnson and his family were required to leave by June 1. The total tax value of the parcels involved is $570,623, according to Orange County tax records.
Johnson, a 56-year old retired landscaper, said the land had been in his family since before the Great Depression. Johnson lived on the property and earned extra income from leasing the 12 mobile homes and an auto repair shop located on the property.
The Edwards family will be relieved to know that their working-class neighbor–you know, the kind John Edwards is marathoning around Iowa for –won’t be around to scare the delicate Mrs. Edwards and slummify their surroundings anymore.
Two Americas, indeed.
***
Speaking of “slummy,” check out that broken-down bus:
To cap off his four-year campaign to win Iowa’s Democratic caucus Thursday night, John Edwards planned a 36-hour marathon bus tour through 15 of the crucial state’s 99 counties with a whole series of policy announcements to garner publicity and caucus votes.
But 12 hours into the political odyssey — billed as Edwards’ “Marathon for the Middle Class” — his Main Street Express bus began making very disturbing noises in western Iowa. In darkness, the bus with the entire Edwards entourage pulled over at a service station and was abandoned.
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At least he didn’t put “Bite Me” on his fence!
Edwards just wants to expound about the “two Americas.” He just doesn’t want to have to look at the other one.
Yeah, she has “first lady” written all over her… NOT!
Maybe the new owners will put a land fill on the property. Or a Hooters.
Better yet just keep it the way it is.
At least now John Edwards won’t have to worry about Silky bringing down his property values.
Democrap double standard strikes again. Only working class people should live in working class neighborhoods. However, the elite rich should not live among the working class. Besides what barber shop would they go to? All the haircuts are $400.00!!!!!!
S is for Silky Pony.
I would get the property declared an Indian, oops I mean a Native-American, reservation and throw up a frickin’ huge casino.
That would make the neighborhood classy right? The name? Why the 2 Americas Casino and Hotel!
The nerve to live across the street from the rich! But hey, Silky is a tough guy - shouldn’t be a problem for Bad Bad Leroy Pony.
Serves the Edwards right for moving into a slum area and building a mansion! What part of two Americas does the Edwards clan not understand? Gawd, he is making me sick with his “I’m for the middle class” tripe. Silky does not represent me.
Go Silky! I want him to win the Dem nomination so he can go down in flames!
John Edwards is the definition of the word “dope,” as far as I’m concerned.
I hope he goes down in flames in the primaries, so he can disappear sooner. Knowing my luck however, he’ll probably get the nomination.
Dope.
I’m sure Mr. Johnson will be happy with the quality of new neighbors he should be able to find wherever he chooses to settle with his windfall profits from selling his property. I would love to see the new owner build public assistance housing on the property. It would serve the “Silk Pony” to have to constantly stare at the other America he is supposedly a champion of.
I’m suspicious. I’m beginning to think the buyer of this property might be some secret Edwards’ supporter. Why would someone pay that much money for property and not negotiate or do an inspection? This one smells fishy. Hmmm…now that I think about it, I wonder if this was done as a favor for Edwards. Inquiring minds want to know!
I would imagine, that a person with cancer…incurable cancer…would be nicer, kinder, more loving of every one and thing. Not Lizzie. She is too much the New Money, Blue Blood Snob who assuages her guilt of her wealth by helping the “little peple” by giving change to the winos.
So One Trick Pony’s bus breaks down, huh? Wow….while there are countless Jay Leno-esque jokes there, i am going to not cross the picket line.
I will just ask one thing…
What would Wyatt Earpp do in such a dangerous sitiation such as this-un right he-ah? I wonder wwhat his reactions were like that moment…if he handled himself with true, manly, estern cowboy fashion? or did he trow a tantrum?
You decide.
Not a problem, Boomer - he champions them at arms length. Never gets his hands dirty - the case with most lawyers who “represent” the disadvantaged.
Before I get flamed for calling down lawyers, I carefully said “most.” Silky is the kind who gives lawyers a bad name.
John Edwards-Fighting for average Americans (that is if you consider the average America lives in a 20,000 square foot estate surrounded by 40 acres).
Is anyone else wondering what Mrs. Edwards would do to trespassers on her estate? Surrender maybe? Invite them in for tea? Let her armed security guards handle it?
If she becomes First Lady, is she going to allow the Secret Service to be armed around her children? Somehow I thing she will. I guess one America can hire someone with a gun to protect them, and the other America can do without protection. We can’t allow THOSE people to carry guns.
Forty two acres is just about the right size for a Walmart.
Wonder if she would’ve felt the same way if a Democrat was living there.
But he should on the way out on his last day…can anyone say “Crop circles”?
great idea madchef! Didn’t Edwards partner with Obama in criticizing Walmart early last year?
I also wonder who bought this property from Mr. Johnson.
April 2007 - Liz Edwards complains
May 2007 - Cowan Griffin makes offer of full asking price of $1.6 Million - over 3 times the tax valuation of the property
June 2007 - Property must be vacated
June 2007 - Liz and Silky are happy that the neighbor whose family had been there since long before the Edwards were born
Anyone want to take bets on there being a relationship somewhere between Silk Pony and KCAJ-LLC and Griffin?
At least Monty Johnson got what he wanted out of the property, plus he gets to get away from the Edwards.
I don’t think this was an Edwards move. I read the entire article and part of the agreement also includes that the sign for Rudy stays there as long as he is still in the race.
Prior to this offer, there was one made to purchase a portion in the front. The real estate agent wouldn’t reveal who this person was, and Johnson refused to sell just a portion of his property. He suspected it was Edwards.
Police have not released a motive for the shootings
Umm, I can think of one. Starts with HONOR, ends with KILLING.
I wish I could have bought it.
I’d have arranged a Malkin Fanclub gathering!
The new owners are said to be building a barber shop, abortion clinic and massage parlor.
Maybe Edwards can buy it so his mistress and his kid can live closer to his house.
By daylight, it had been occupied by an extended family of undocumented immigrants.
Did the Edwards not notice what was across the street when they bought the property? The Silky Pony & his hitman wife have theirselves to blame if they did not like the look of the neighborhood. Opps, sorry these are Dems. so everything is someone else’s fault.
Newsflash!! a cougar is on the loose in las vegas. I’m sure some rich guy like john edwards owned him!!!!
Hey I could have taken that picture for you!
Brokeback bus express? Oh well, back to rehab.
Seems the neighbor was there first from my memory. Edwards bought his place and he’s way back from the road.
Sounds like a place for one kick a$$ biker bar with real loud speakers on the deck.
The man cant make some type of a sensible agreeable solution with a neighbor and wants to be President?
This alone should lose him any consideration from anyone with even a pea sized brain. give me a flippin break.
I wonder if those 40 acres included a mule.
You from the area? My inlaws are. (I can’t believe I just admitted that!)
:sounds of dueling banjo’s in the background:
Myself, I would put in a catfish farm, bait shack and a hog farm.
Ummm… did they really abandon the bus? Like leave it for dead? Wouldn’t this qualify as polution?
Everybody has at least one neighbor like the Edwardses, holier than thou hypocrites and threatening bullies.
They’re both phonies, they may talk about more than one America but they’re really only concerned about one America, theirs.
Following a phone conversation with Congressman Murtha, they redeployed to Okinawa….
Maybe its only when she comes around…… and come on, who can blame him???
Excellent point.
Why do I think there’s more to that than meets the eye? As in, that the guy was protecting his property and home - a Constitutional right. Or does Mrs. Edwards prescribe to the Rosie O’Donnell method of gun control: They’re dangerous when law abiding common citizens to use to protect themselves, but fine when in the hands of armed guards that protect Ms. O’Donnell and her family.
I’m thinkin’ an illegal immigrant housing and employment sanctuary would be just right for the neighborhood. Wouldn’t even need to improve the current “housing” stock…
If ol Monty wanted to increase the sale price he could have just put in a pig farm.
Listening to Metroplex news. Apparently, another “honor” killing. This one
in Dallas because 2 daughters were dating wrong people, acting western,
etc.
Back to topic. Maybe he pulled gun when Edwards came on property because
he was afraid of an Edwards slip and fall lawsuit and wanted him off of the
property before that could happen.
Now if your inlaws are criminals do you get to call them your outlaws?
From the Carolina Journal:
So, Cowan Griffin lies about the source of funds to the seller. And borrows the entire $1.1 million down not from a bank but from a retired UNC professor. And while the professor claims that he is a “lender”, and that is what he does to make money, he has no idea what his loan is going to be used for regarding the property. Most “lenders” would want some idea of how they would be repaid, and the use of the property is front and center on that issue.
Oh yeah, the professor/lender says is loan is secured by the value of the land, which has a value per tax records of less than half the amount of his loan. So our professor is willing to make a 200% LTV loan without any information regarding the use of the collateral.
Something stinks to high heaven here. No one is that reckless with their money, especially in today’s real estate market. Especially someone who claims to be living on retirement income.
Perhaps he’s a shill for the Edwards family. They may have decided that the only
way to get rid of an unwanted neighbor was to buy him out, but knew that he
wouldn’t sell to them.
To be honest, this isn’t surprising. I used to live near Raleigh; stuff like that happens a lot, especially with Edwards involved.
Nothing says “Caring, compassionate, understanding, there for you, feel your pain Democrat” more, that a Democrat couple that can’t stand poor people and hates the way poor people look and live.
this should be a big, huge, monsterous red flag for every single Democrat across this nation as to exactly how their leadershop actually feels about the Working Class…the Class that they slaim to actually support, represent and allegedly “Be from and a part of”
Some on point out a single, solitary member of the Democratic Political Machine, Congressman, Senator or Presidential Candidare that actually lives like or in a poverty stricke or middle class area. Oh sure, they all tell you that they were all from a one bedroom shack and walked to school in the snow barefoot, up hill both ways 10 miles, but noone has proof of that, and no one has ever bothered to look into it. This reaction of Little Lizzie and Silkie is more indicative to the true heart of how each and every one of these phoney baloney politicians who have all of these hororscope reading Democrats thinking about them than anything else I have ever seen. Well, this and the way Chelsea treated that little fourth grader Scholastic Reporter the other day when the 9 year old girl asked her a question and she told her, “I don’t speak to reporters.” Yup, she is just too special and still off limits, even to fourth grade school reporters too.
And yet, these people still believe in their Golden Calfs and dance naked around their Bonn Fires. “These False Gods Will Save us. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie!!!”
Charlie Rangel.
I would not be surprised if the “retired business professor” served John Edwards in his ambulance chasing days as an expert witness or consultant. Nor would it surprise me if the dear professor was nothing but a straw man through whom funds were routed by Edwards.
Nobody in the MSM asks Edwards how he can be such a populist and say he refuses to negotiate with big business when he was paid close to $500,000.00 for about six months of “work” for the Fortress Group, a company that does not manufacture anything but owns subprime mortgage companies that are now foreclosing on the homes of poor families who were wiped out by Katrina. Will anybody in the MSM ask Edwards about it? How about the phony think tank for the study of poverty the Edwards’ set up which was exposed by the New York Times as a place for innocent people to donate money to and just about all the money went for John Edwards to fly around the country on?
This guy is so phony it is amazing. The champion of the union men and women who, when it was convenient, supported right to work laws.