Carter’s Grove Sale Deadline Might Be Pushed Back, Listing Price May Decrease

WYDaily.com is your source for free news and information in Williamsburg, James City York Counties.

CW-CartersGrove

The May 2014 deadline for selling Carter’s Grove could be extended a month if a bankruptcy court allows the historic property’s trustee to lengthen the contract with the real estate agent.

A Jan. 23 hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Eastern District will review a request to extend McLean Faulconer Inc.’s contract as the real estate agent for the property. Carter’s Grove court-appointed trustee Stanley Samorajczyk submitted the request, asking the contract be extended to June 30.

Carter’s Grove has been on the market since May 2013. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Samorajczyk came to a settlement agreement, which the court approved in September 2012 to give Samorajczyk the ability to restore and market the property. The agreement put a May 2014 deadline on the property’s sale by requiring CWF’s claim on the property be paid in full prior to May 1. If the claim is not paid, Samorajczyk has until May 31 this year to sell the property at auction.

In late October 2012, the bankruptcy court issued an order authorizing Samorajczyk to hire McLean Faulconer, with Stephen McLean serving as the listing agent. The property was listed for sale in May 2013 for $14.95 million. Under the order, the real estate firm could be employed until Dec. 31, 2013, but another order from the court could extend that time frame.

On Dec. 18, Samorajczyk filed an application asking the court to extend the real estate contract.

“The efforts of Mr. McLean in marketing the Property thus far have been satisfactory to the Trustee and the Trustee believes that Mr. McLean’s efforts have been successful in generating substantial interest in the Property,” Samorajczyk’s application reads. “Mr. McLean reports that although no offers have been received to date, there has been a greater number of responses to the marketing efforts for Carter’s Grove than Mr. McLean has received for similar historic properties.”

A day after Samorajczyk filed his application, Colonial Williamsburg filed a statement requesting the court uphold its order that the property be sold by the end of May. CWF has been footing the bill for repairs and upkeep after dot-com millionaire Halsey Minor defaulted on paying for the Carter’s Grove property.

“This deadline is more than three years after the petition date and more than two years after the Trustee was appointed,” Colonial Williamsburg’s statement reads. “This unusually extended period of time was intended to address the need to repair the Mansion before commencing the marketing process and to have a reasonable period of time to market the Property. CWF relied on this period when it entered into the Settlement Agreement and when it advanced more than $1.7 million to the Trustee.”

Colonial Williamsburg does not want the selling deadline to be extended “because every day of delay in selling the Property generates additional maintenance costs, insurance premiums, property taxes, interest accruals, salary expense and professional fees.” Colonial Williamsburg continued to say no cash would be available to pay additional costs after May 31.

Colonial Williamsburg’s statement continues to say Samorajczyk had 20 months to repair and market the property; the property has been actively marketed since May 2013.

“Because the Trustee has not received a single offer for the Property over the past eight months …, CWF respectfully submits that the Trustee should reduce the listing price in the extension agreement with the broker,” Colonial Williamsburg’s statement reads.

Related Coverage

Share This Post


RSS

Posted by
on January 12, 2014. Filed under Latest News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Open bundled references in tabs: