by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
First-time auction generates interest
The first commercial auction in Jacksonville drew an intriguing and diverse crowd. Some were dressed in formal business attire, others as if they had a tee time.
While it was hard to discern the interested buyer from the casual observer, Thursday’s auction at the Marriott Southpoint put on by Colliers Dickinson and United Country Certified Real Estate created a lot of interest, the kind that left organizers looking forward to the next auction July 8.
United Country broker Myers Jackson served as both host and auctioneer. Locally, Gary Montour of Colliers Dickinson organized the auction.
Colliers Dickinson President Walter Dickinson said there were plenty of prospective buyers at the auction, as well as many who just came to see what it would cost to purchase an empty building or a vacant lot. There were others, too.
“There are bankers and attorneys here looking to see what’s going on and see what values are established for properties,” he said.
Tim Seise and his partner at Horizon Properties attended the auction for the sole purpose of seeing how it went and what buyers are willing to pay for four acres on the Westside or a cluster of condominiums in Fernandina Beach.
“We went to the training (Wednesday) and met Myers and Gary and learned a lot about the process,” said Seise. “I have never been to an auction, but you should be able to get property at considerably less than market value.”
Seise, who did not bring his wallet and had no intentions of buying anything, said it wouldn’t surprise him if property could be had for one-tenth of the current asking price.
“As an investor, that makes it a lot more attractive,” he said.
One bidder, who asked to not be identified, offered $30,000 for a former Village Inn on Atlantic Boulevard. He said he doesn’t expect the seller to accept the offer, but if the seller accepts, he’ll pick up the property for a fraction of the asking price.
Before the auction, Jackson, who has conducted dozens of similar auctions across the country, talked about the parameters of the auction and pending sales. Some of the things that must be taken into consideration, or approved, include the taxes owed on the property, the deposit and closing deadlines.
“You must close on the property by May 10 unless the auctioneer approves an extension. Then, you have until May 14,” said Jackson. “We are here today to make a deal and sell property.”
There were 33 properties up for grabs and no one bid on the first two. One was an 11,000-square-foot retail space along Beach Boulevard. Jackson opened the bidding at $1 million and quickly saw no one was going to bid. He eventually got down to $25,000 and when there weren’t any takers, he moved on to the second property. It was four acres of vacant land along Blanding Boulevard. Jackson started at $500,000, got down to asking for $50,000 and eventually passed again.
Montour agreed both were deals, but there were reasons no one bid on either.
“The message sellers will get is there is not a lot of interest in their properties,” said Montour. “Some of the properties there, no one wanted. With those, we will go back to our normal course of marketing.”
No matter now many properties actually change hands, Dickinson liked what he saw.
“This will get people stimulated. This is a huge turnout and will help for July 8. We are going to learn a lot,” he said.
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