Bids too low for Batavia teen builders’ house
A Realtor might be hired to sell the house the Batavia High School Building Trades class built on Lathem Street, because two bids on it were lower than what the school district wants.
In January, the school board set the minimum price at $230,000 for the house at 707 Lathem St. Sealed bids were due Feb. 28.
A memo to the school board did not specify what the bids were. A message has been left requesting that information.
The contract with Kettley and Co. Realtors specifies a listing price of $287,000 for the three-bedroom, 2½-bathroom two-story house. It has a wraparound porch and hardwood floors.
Most of the other 16 houses on the street are one story; only three are two stories. The most recent sale of a two-story home was for $306,000 in 2006. A one-story house next door to the Building Trades house sold for $209,000 in 2008, more than 16 percent less than what it sold for in 2006.
It is not the first time the district has had problems with the sale of a Building Trades house. In 2009, it was criticized for selling a house to the district’s chief information officer for $259,000. It had cost the district $400,000 to build the house, and the high bid was $325,000, but that person could not arrange financing in time. The CIO, Anton Inglese, was the second-highest bidder.
The school board will vote on the matter at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Rosalie Jones Administration Center, 335 W. Wilson St.