Case Studies

Case Study # 832: Oklahoma - Tera Miranda [Full Service Marina: Littoral - Lake]

Client: Tera Miranda Marina - The marina was operated for 47 continuous years by the same owners. The downturn in the economy and fewer visitors/tourists, caused the Marina to fall into foreclosure and receivership. A Court appointed Receiver, looking to maximize the return to the Creditors.

Property: A “Full Service Marina” Located at Grand Lake O’ The Cherokees in Northeast Oklahoma. The property had not been listed traditionally, but the owner's were looking for a price in the $4 million dollar range.

Challenge: To create competitive bidding from the buyers throughout America and achieve “true fair market value”, for the property. The goal was to reach $3 million dollars, as this was the amount due the secured lender.

Solution: Property Sold at Auction for $3.52 million. A nationwide advertising and mail campaign was launched, which resulted in 21 registered bidders with $100,000 cashier’s checks. The property was sold for all cash; as-is; and without any contingencies. The sellers were so pleased and relieved, that the owner's son went to Auction School and is now an auctioneer. The highest compliment we could receive. The Receiver was impressed with our work, and has rehired our team to auction another marina in Oklahoma

Case Study #  879: Ft. Lauderdale - Manufacturer [Class A: Industrial - 138,000 Sq.Ft.]

Client: South Florida Manufacturer closes its doors after 50 years in business, and no longer needs their facilities. The property listed for Sale in August 2008 at replacement value.

Property: 138,000 Sq.Ft. Class A Industrial in Ft. Lauderdale. The property was listed in August 2008 and priced at replacement value. The building was 90% vacant. 

Challenge: The Owner and the Lender wanted to dispose of the property. Over the 16 month listing period, the property was shown to over 100 potential buyers and tenants. Almost all parties liked the building and the location; however with business eroding and funding drying up, no one would pull the trigger.  Meanwhile, for 8 months, the Owner was covering a significant cash flow shortfall.  As the months went by, and the loan went into default, the buyers were saying, “it’s in foreclosure, the price will come down…we’ll wait.” We heard this same comment over and over again. During that listing period, only 2 offers were received, neither acceptable. 

Solution: Property Sold at Auction for $5.7 million.  In November, we suggested a Public Auction - Subject to Lenders Approval, we listed the property for Auction. During the 7 week marketing period, we had over 30 interested parties preview the property. On Auction day, there we 10 approved Bidders, the bidding was spirited, and we sold the property for $5.7 million. This amount was $1.9 million higher than the best previous offer. All parties accepted the offer. 

Case Study: Charter Club Waterfront Commercial Condominium - Transaction Closed, May 2011

Client: The seller owned the property for 20 years and was ready to sell and get the equity out of the property.

Property: Condo Office, one of three commercial units inside a residential building, 9,545 sq ft; originally listed at $1.5 million; good location in Midtown Miami.

Challenge: The property is one of a few commercial units in a large residential building, making it a difficult to sell property especially in a down market. The Tenant was only paying 50% of rental agreement. Over an 18 month period, property was shown to several prospects but no serious buyers came to the table.  The property price was simply too high for the market and the complications of being a commercial unit owner in a residential property.

Solution: Owner decided to put the property up for sale via a “Live Auction.” During the 6 week marketing period, there were over 1,100,000 impressions on various internet advertising sources, including video. Check out the YouTube video here. There were 14 interested parties, resulting in 3 prospective Bidders. The auction did not reach the minimum bid of $603,000, resulting in No Sale.  However, 3 days after the auction one of the bidders bought the property in a market base sale.  With a traditional Purchase and Sale Agreement, the final price was $688,000.

Case Study #916: Hancock Mountain

Client: Quarry Owner / Operator  The property was originally purchased for a rock quarry. Unfortunately there were problems extracting useable stone and did not serve the business as planned. The property was on the market for 18 months.

Property: 131 Acre Mountain in Keota, Oklahoma.  The property is a sportsman’s paradise, situated on the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, with deep water access to the Arkansas River Navigation System. Close to Fort Smith, AK and Tulsa, OK. 

Challenge: The Owner needed to dispose of the property so he could focus on his business. During the time the property was on the market, the Seller ran an Auction by Owner. There were no bidders. Our challenge was to sell the property after it had been on the market for 18 months and had a failed auction attempt; and accomplish this in the worst recession since the Depression.

Solution: Absolute Auction, Live in Miami on Pro Bowl weekend, with LiveBid –Online real-time bidding.  In January, we suggested a Live Absolute Auction.  Due to the unique features of the property, we needed to market it on a national campaign. The owner agreed, and we started our 7 week marketing campaign. In order to attract qualified bidders, our campaign included, printed brochure mailed to targeted buyers, newspaper ads in Wall St Journal and local papers, listings on dozens of the commercial listing websites and email blasts to 140,000 brokers and investors. Our efforts resulted on dozens of inquiries from interested parties.

Result: Hancock Mountain Sold for $275,000. On Auction day, the bidding was spirited, we had live bidders in Miami, remote bidding over the phone from Dallas, TX; for a property in Keota, OK, with an Owner from Wichita Falls, TX. Finally, the bidder from Dallas won with the high bid of $275,000. The property was sold, the Buyer was happy; and the Seller was relieved, and was able to move on and focus on his business.