UP FOR AUCTION: Highest bidder gets Winter Colony estate 1/20/2010 8:58 PM
By SUZANNE R. STONE Staff writer
Real estate shoppers have a chance to compete on the auction floor for one of Aiken's historic Winter Colony estates.
The Balcony, located at 836 Whiskey Road, will be sold on behalf of its present owner by Grand Estates Auction Co. on Feb. 9.
The sale includes the 11,600-square-foot house with five bedrooms, eight full and two half baths, a three-bedroom, two-bath guest house, and almost six acres of grounds with pool, tennis court, paddocks, sand riding area, 20-stall barn and a wide range of equestrian amenities. The home received a 2008 Master Craftsman renovation, maintaining period details throughout the house.
"It's in meticulous condition. I've been speaking to the seller since last summer. This is not a distress sale, but rather a means of exhaustively marketing the property for a competitive sale. Our process is time-specific, in which an auction date has been selected," said Stacy Kirk, Grand Estates Auctions president. "I understand the seller has relocated to another part of the country and is making a lifestyle change. They don't want their property to be just one of many properties on a list. We all know this is a slower than normal real estate market, and who knows when it would sell using the traditional method? The seller has the financial power to not be subjected to that wait before he moves on."
The Balcony was designed in 1929 by famed architect Julian Peabody of New York for Mr. and Mrs. Seymour H. Knox II, son of the co-founder of the F.W. Woolworth five-and-dime store chain. A Woolworth board member, Knox was a noted sportsman and avid polo player, and he led a team to the U.S. Championship in 1932, Kirk said.
The property will be shown to prospective buyers from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, and 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, during which hours buyers can register to bid.
A $50,000 certified check made payable to the bidder is required to register; the checks will be returned to all but the winning bidder. The auction will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9.
"If you're the winning bidder, then that check will be signed over to be held in the attorney's escrow account," said Kirk. "The winning bidder will then be required to put down the remainder of 10 percent of the sale on auction day and to be prepared to close in 30 days. All of the due diligence for the property has already been completed, such as inspections, a general warranty deed and preliminary title. A due diligence package is available to the bidders, and we welcome them to bring in their own inspectors if they desire."
More information about the sale is available online at www.GrandEstatesAuction.com, or call (800) 552-8120 for a free color brochure of the property.
Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.
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