barbara desoer

Bank Of America Buys Exec's Slow Selling Home

What happens when an executive gets a transfer and can't sell their house? In some cases, no need to worry, your company will buy your slow seller. Bloomberg tells the story of Barbara Desoer, who put her house in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the market in August for $1.675 million when she was named head of Bank of America Corp.'s real-estate unit, Countrywide Financial Corp., in Calabasas, California. She and her husband had bought the home in 2000 for $1.15 million. It sold in December, to Bank of America which has put the home up for sale for $1.295 million. A proxy statement reveals that Bank of America will cover costs associated with the sale of the Desoers' house, plus $1.5 million for costs on their new home in California and another $1.1 million for tax-related costs.
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The home is in one of Charlotte's priciest neighborhoods where the inventory of million-dollar homes on the market is very high. It would take years to sell just what is available now reports a local real estate agent. In Charlotte, which is home to Bank of America, home sales have been falling since June 2007. Wells Fargo & Co.'s purchase of Charlotte-based Wachovia, could mean more job cuts and more homes on the market.

Gallery: A Bank of America Exec's Charlotte Home