"7" Auction Incomplete

((HT: Darryl Maxie/AJC))

To no one's surprise at OSG HQ, the mansion of "7" is still awaiting a buyer. No one at today's sheduled auction stepped up for a $3.2-million basement negotiating price...

Maxie was there...

Do I hear … nothing?
Going once …

Going twice …

Nobody made a bid on Michael Vick’s Duluth mansion Tuesday. The 20,000-square-foot, eight-bedroom house was supposed to be auctioned for at least $3.2 million to satisfy debts as part of the suspended Falcons quarterback’s bankruptcy case.

As for what happens next, nothing is clear, even to the two representatives for pre-qualified bidders who showed up — Seema Jain of Virtual Properties ((pictured, thanks Maxie/AJC)) and Narender Reddy of Metro Brokers/GMAC.

“I have no idea; the attorneys have to decide,” Reddy said. “They’re going to have to go back to the judge and restrategize.”

A Gwinnett County police officer stood guard in the lobby of the McGarity Law Firm in Buford. But outside only media members gathered.

Nothing happened. Neither Jain nor Reddy presented the $160,000 cashier’s check — the first half of the required 10 percent deposit — that would’ve been necessary to make a bid. And Reddy, who said he’d offered Tuesday’s minimum asking price on behalf of an unidentified client two months ago, was hardly surprised.

“I was very confident our offer was going to be the best, and I told them that two months ago,” Reddy said. “Even now, I told them that.”

Reddy said his offer was rebuffed because the court wanted to see if an auction would fetch a higher price. So he took it off the table.

Vick, who is serving the last days of a 23-month sentence in federal prison for felony charges related to dogfighting, bought the mansion in April 2005 for $3.77 million and owes the mortgage company about $2.8 million.

The house at 2927 Darlington Run features 11 bathrooms, two fireplaces, a two-story foyer, a garage that accommodates at least four cars, a dining room for at least 12, cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors and a two-story library/office. There’s also a pool room, movie theater and an indoor golf simulator.

Now that an aborted auction has shown that the house won’t fetch that price in a depressed economy, Reddy said he’d consult with his client about reducing his offer.

Meanwhile, Lance Hempen, an agent for the Funari Realty, handed out a three-line statement.
“We are currently in ongoing negotiations,” it said in part. “Because negotiations are still ongoing, we cannot discuss details concerning the sale of the property.”
Pressed to elaborate, Hempen smiled and said, “You can say we’re actively in ongoing negotiations.”

Jain declined to comment after the proceeding.

Before she went in, however, she said, “All we care about is the property, to see if the product is going to go for the right price. We want to be realistic about it. Nobody cares who owns it. It could be a little bit negative for people, people who feel bad about what [Vick] did. But the location is good.”

Reddy downplayed the Vick celebrity factor as a selling point, pointing instead to “the floor plan, the lake view. It has all the features you want in a luxury house.”

Those of us at OSG HQ really dig the retractable chandelier...