Obama proposes panel to sell off unneeded government real estate

[Tod R.]

Does this get anyone excited?

14,000 buildings and "structures". Any chance that these buildings won't need updating? It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I wonder if they will include any land in the sell off

[Darryl Dahlen]

This could be a great idea if properly handled. My first reaction is the government would be far better off outsourcing this to a company is already setup to handle these sorts of transactions from A-Z.

CBRE comes to mind for properties suited for commercial use and an entity like Caldwell Banker for residential. Using a company with a national presence is ideal for obvious reasons and having companies with the knowledge, experience, and staff to evaluate, market, and sell properties is a win-win.

Left in the hands of the government this could right into the crapper for far too many reasons. Just think of all the 6 figure jobs that would be created to sell off properties for pennies on the dollar, lol.

My biggest fear would be a foreign country (China comes to mind) coming in and buying up large parcels of property. While that may not necessarily be a bad thing, I'm of the mind to give American people first crack at this sort of thing since taxpayer money was used to build/develop these properties.

Still, this could be an exciting opportunity if done right.