Casa del Nylon Appraised December 2010~Horacio Barrera "Negotiates" Top Dollar Payment by Brownsville Taxpayers

Horacio Barrera

The purchase price for La Casa del Nylon building at 1304 E. Adams Street was based on an appraisal nearly two years old at the time of sale in 2012. For that reason, we questioned whether the license of appraiser Lauro Leal was current at the time of sale, since a document included in the appraisal showed it as expiring 8/31/11. Leal's license was current when the appraisal was made in December 2010.

Joey Cortez, an appraiser with Asap Appraisal Services corrected us:  

"Lauro Leal is currently licensed appraiser in the State of Texas. That is an old license you are looking at. The property was either appraised prior to the expiration date of the license or the older license was accidently put in the report instead of the newer one."

Another commenter raised what we consider the real issue in investigating the appraisal of La Casa del Nylon:  "Expired or not, the guy's license should be suspended forever because he obviously does not know how to appraise a building appropriately. I smell a kickback."

Homeless living under dilapidated awning
of Casa del Nylon.  Brownsville taxpayers
were accessed a 20 Year Certificate of
Obligation to pay for the building.

Regardless of the appraisal, Mayor Martinez unethically sent his law partner, Horacio Barrera to "negotiate" the purchase of the building from Abraham Galonsky.  I'm not certain who exactly Barrera was negotiating for, but it was not the taxpayers of Brownsville, as he agreed on absolute top dollar for an aging building that had been on the market for more than a decade.  For a building for which the city has yet to figure out a use, the Barrera-negotiated price was $2,300,000.  Over a year later, the building sits in decay with broken windows, a falling awning that frequently provides shelter for the homeless.

Over the next couple weeks, I will take a look at some comparison buildings used by the appraiser.  We will look at the square footage, income potential and potential uses included in the appraisal.   

The Coca Cola Building next to the City Commission

In the meantime, her is our personal comparison, the so-called Coca-Cola building at 10th and Washington, adjacent to the City Commission building.  It seems to have a bit more detail and is a legitimate two story.(La Casa del Nylon's second story is an unfinished attic, not currently suitable for office or retail use.)  In 2012, when the City of Brownsville purchased La Casa del Nylon, the Coca-Cola building was on the market for $600,000, but did not sell.