Court Memo Details $350K+ Probate Valuation Gap Linked to Affordable Housing Board Member

Court Memo Details $350K Probate Valuation Gap Linked to City Affordable Housing Board Leadership.

An Analysis of Incentive Misalignment When Regulatory Leaders Own Investment Properties That Benefit from Policies or Practices They Help Shape

Document Overview

Charleston County Court of Common Pleas Case number: 2025-CP-10-05095
Filing Date: December 3, 2025
Filed by: Plaintiffs McNeil and Poyer
Document: Memorandum Regarding Probate Records, Ownership Interest, and Material Valuation Relation to Jonathan S. Altman and SAC 181, LLC
What's here: Legal memorandum with probate evidence and systems analysis
Exhibits: 8 separate exhibit series with sworn court documents

Executive Summary

A property owner with significant influence over housing policy faces an incentive conflict: the motivation to extract short term profits (as investor) directly conflicts with the responsibility to promote affordable housing (as board leader). In case 2025-CP-10-05095, this conflict explains documented discrepancies such as undervaluing assets for tax purposes, while profiting from property management tactics including aggressively raising rents and displacing tenants for higher profits.

  • The outrage is clear: when leaders tasked with protecting vulnerable families instead profit from the exploitation of those families, the system fails everyone.
  • This analysis exposes that hypocrisy and calls for accountability, not just for the individual, but for the incentives that make such behavior possible.

The Facts:

What the Record Shows

The Role:

  • Profile states (as of December 9, 2025): "Altman was the chair of the City of Charleston's affordable housing initiative"

  • Not minor board position; not recent appointment; executive leadershipL The CHAIR.

  • Charleston-SC.gov states, "At The City of Charleston’s Homeownership Initiative (HI) was designed to create affordable home ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families and stimulate revitalization."

The Property:

  • 181 Gordon Street, Charleston, SC (residence rented by Chris McNeil and Meaghan Poyer for 5 years)

  • Managed by Meridian Residential Group (owned by SAC, 181, LLC, the Registered Agent of which is Charles S. Altman)

  • Subject of alleged retaliatory eviction; falsified postal evidence; privacy violations

  • Central to McNeil v. SAC 181 LLC litigation

The Valuation Discrepancy:

  • Redfin Estimate for November 2021: $620,122

  • Probate court valuation (in dispute): ~$251,000

  • Gap: $369,122

  • Timing: Valuation signed off on just as previous active litigation over same property was concluding

Systemic Issues Raised

If valuations are accurateIf valuation reflects conflict of interest
Probate court documents are reliable for estate purposesDocument becomes evidence of misalignment
No pattern emergesPattern suggests systemic undervaluation across portfolio
No cause for concernRaises questions about Altman's incentive structure

Media Inquiries

For questions about this memorandum or underlying probate evidence, contact:
Chris McNeil, Pro Se Plaintiff
Email: Click here to email with web form
Case: 2025-CP-10-05095, Charleston County Court of Common Pleas

Document Access

Memorandum Regarding Probate Records, Ownership Interest, and Material Valuation Relation to Jonathan S. Altman and SAC 181, LLC

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    Systems View: Incentive Conflict and Mental Models in Probate Valuation

    Iceberg LevelAnalysis for This CaseStrategic Intervention
    EventsFalsified probate valuations; rapid rent spikes; retaliatory evictions; unauthorized image publication.Immediate remedies: Sanctions, transparency, public record-keeping.
    PatternsUndervaluation for tax/probate; overvaluation for rent; use of opaque LLC structures to hide ownership; exploitation of tenant privacy.Pattern litigation, judicial estoppel, public naming of tactics.
    StructuresLLC veils, status shielding, information asymmetry, lack of robust due diligence in property management.Veil-piercing motions, policy reforms, disclosure mandates.
    Mental ModelsProperty as Extraction: Maximize short-term profit, regardless of human impact.Conscious Stewardship (alternative): Housing as a service; tenants as partners rather than targets.

    Reframe narratives; showcase pro se competence; demand accountability through systemic tools and public pressure.

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