When the Beach House Motel went on the auction block early last month, curious locals and dozens of serious bidders came out on a sunny Saturday morning to tour the property – and possibly make an offer.
The auction began at 10 a.m. and was over in five minutes.
It was not an “absolute auction” at any prince, so Venu Patel is giving the sale of his beachfront property a second thought.
“There’s an offer but at this point I’m undecided,” Patel said. “Once you sell it you can’t take it back.”
Marshall Copley of Jacobson Auction & Realty Co, which handled the marketing and live auction, reported the bid amount under consideration by Patel is $850,000. Patel had set a reserve amount on the sale above what was offered, so he said he is taking everything into consideration.
“Everyone who was there asked me why I was selling it,” Patel said. “In my heart I love the place and either choice is a good choice. I need to speak to my wife and partners and see what everyone thinks.”
If he decides to keep the property, Patel hopes to meet with town leaders to discuss development options.
“My goal is to work with the town and see what options I may have,” Patel said. “I still have to fix the insurance deal. Insurance says you can repair it and town says knock it down.”
Regardless of whether he chooses to accept the offer – or possibly consider another outside offer – Patel said he was very satisfied with the auction process.
“Everyone was very professional, and I was very comfortable with it,” Patel said. “An auction is like a big open house and there were a lot of interested parties.” Patel said he should have his decision about whether to sell or not made in the next few weeks.
