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Comment by gene91 | Hacker News Reader

Lately, a 3000 sq ft house in Stanford (which can be sold on the market, but only to eligible faculty and employees) sells for over $2.5M, whereas a similar home in Palo Alto (which can be sold on the market, to any one) sells for around $5M.

As a result, while what you said is true, I don’t think it matters that much. At the end of the day, it’s an asset that’s worth millions of dollars.

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When we bought a couple years ago, there was a surprisingly small difference between homes on-campus and comparables off-campus. That may have changed somewhat, but I'd be surprised if the difference were 2x.

But the bigger picture is that SBF's parents cannot have signed over the right for the government to seize the property. They do not own a fee simple interest in the land. They have a ground lease that lasts a few decades (the limit is currently 51 years, but they bought decades ago when it may have been different).

Is the house worth millions? Yes. Can the government seize it? Stanford would say no because the residents are not the fee simple owners.

I’m not familiar with the details. But I assume there exist a way for creditors (incl the government) to seize it somehow, and then sell it to eligible buyers to recover what they’re owed.

Does your Stanford home has a mortgage on it? If so, I assume you signed a deed of trust somehow.

The challenge is that not just anyone can live in it... only faculty and staff. There's a 50 year max term and even widows get booted out after their spouses pass. You really don't own the house/land... just the right to live there and re-sell it.

For on-campus housing, widows/widowers can remain for life. [1] There are other off-campus housing programs that only give 10 years after the death of the qualifying spouse.

1: https://stanfordfsh.prod.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/file...

That's good news. There was a lot of drama in the late 90s when I lived there, because a widow was being kicked out of a house on Santa Ynez. I'd guess that was on-campus and maybe the reason for a change.

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