Guardian, UK - Osama bin Laden's house, described by the US government as a $1m (£605,000) mansion, is in fact worth no than $250,000 say property professionals in Abbottabad, the town where he was killed.
The revelation is the latest of several erroneous descriptions about the nature of Bin Laden's hideout – and the manner of his death – which have dogged the White House in recent days.
On Tuesday US officials retracted claims that Bin Laden was armed when killed, and that he had used one of his wives as a human shield.
Descriptions of Bin Laden's hideout have also been prone to exaggeration. After Sunday night's dramatic raid by US Navy Seals, a senior Obama administration official told reporters that the property, an "extraordinarily unique compound" in an "affluent suburb", was valued at around $1m.
But two property professionals in Abbottabad – a quiet, military-dominated town – said that much of that was incorrect. Based on the size of the plot and the house, which was built in 2005, and using recent property sales as a guide, they estimated that it would fetch no more than $250,000 on the current market.
"Twenty million rupees, maximum," said property dealer Muhammad Anwar, a 22-year veteran of the local market, at his Abbottabad office. "No swimming pool. This is not a posh area. We call it a middling area."
I wish I could put my house on the market for 20 million rupees right now. How come the housing market is booming in Pakastan and not in MA. We've got the ocean, they've got a war. Here are some more pics:
Now, granted, my house doesn't have a 15 foot concrete wall with barbed wire and the back yard seems a little greener than I anticipated, but come on. I have done a bunch of landscaping, have a new front door AND a new front porch. I have a deck off the back of the house, all bin Laden had was that red fence that is falling down.
I love that property dealer who said: "No swimming pool. This is not a posh area. We call it a middling area." The balls on this guy, huh? Dude was the world's most wanted man and this guy is basically calling him a pussy for not having a swimming pool. Eh, I'm guessing Osama sure could go for a pool now. I'm guessing it's a bit warm where he is now.
-Big Ran
*KC Jones Says: Good find Big Ran, I wish the U.S. would start dealing in 'rupees', it just sounds so much cooler than 'dollars'. Imagine hearing the term 'rupees' in rap songs? Yessssssssss...Also, good thing Osama Bin Hidin' didn't have a pool- the filter would have been continuously drained with pieces of hair from the ferret that was growing off of this chin.
P.S. Why wasn't this compound ever featured on Al-Jazzera's equivalent of MTV Cribs?
I am not really sure how they were able to justify Osama's dwelling being worth $250K. I do like their currency name but would prefer if it was called rufees instead of rupees. I would enjoy it very much if MTV did a cribs for the homeless. It would make me feel good about my own digs.
ReplyDelete-AA
AA- I feel you. I'm going to pitch that idea to MTV ASAP. Holla!
ReplyDelete-KC Jones