West End Condo Auction Details

The West End condo auction in Nashville is set to take place at 11:00am on Saturday, December 5th onsite in the West End itself. 45 condos will be sold at auction with an unknown reserve price in place. However, in an announcement made just yesterday, the auction will now include a yet undisclosed number of condos selling absolute without reserve. I am told that the developer will identity the specific absolute units this weekend.

Important auction dates and requirements

The West End will be available for previews Monday through Saturday 11am – 6pm, Thursday until 8pm and Sunday 12pm – 5pm. No appointment is necessary. When you arrive at the building, you will be asked to sign in and be given a visitor’s pass that allows you access to all 45 auction units. You will also be asked to identify at this time which real estate broker, if any, will represent you at the auction. Once you have completed this half page sign-in card, you will proceed to the sixth floor to meet an auction representative who will begin your tour of the furnished model condos.

If you intend to bid on a condo at the auction, you must be pre-registered by 3:00pm on Friday December the 4th. In order to be considered pre-registered, you must complete the buyer’s registration form and have emailed, faxed or delivered that document to the West End building. If you choose to email or fax the form, you must bring the original signed copy with you on auction day in order to receive your bidder’s paddle. It is my assumption that should you forget this form, the auction company will allow you to sign the faxed or emailed version at the registration table.

The West End will open at 9:00am on auction day and bidders are encouraged to arrive at least 1 hour prior to the 11:00am auction.

Money requirements

Bidders are required to bring a $5,000 cashier’s check made out to themselves or another type of immediately available funds. In addition, bidders are required to bring a blank personal or business check that will be used to complete the difference between your $5,000 cashier’s check and 5% of the total condo purchase price. You may want to consider obtaining your cashier’s check by Friday to avoid any issues Saturday morning.

The West End’s condo homeowners association fees currently average $0.17/sf. The exact monthly HOA fees for each individual condo are published and available on the day of the sale.

Key auction terms

All of the auction terms are available on the West End condo auction website; however, I would like to point out a few key items that may affect your bidding strategy. The first is that there is a 10% buyer’s premium at the sale. In short, this means if your winning bid is $500,000, the actual purchase price will be $550,000 and your earnest money requirement will be $27,500 ($5,000 cashier’s check + $22,500 personal or business check).

All auction purchases are required to be closed on or before Friday, January 15th, 2010. Should you not consummate your purchase by that date, you are subject to loss of all earnest monies and the West End Partners shall be allowed to sue for damages and specific performance.

This auction is an ‘as is, where is’ sale, which means that no contingencies will be permitted. Your auction purchase will not be allowed to be contingent on financing, an appraisal or an inspection. If you feel inclined to have the property inspected prior to auction day, you should schedule that to occur prior to Thursday, December 3rd.

All one and two bedroom condos are being sold with 1 parking space included and all three bedroom condos are being sold with 2 parking spaces included. An additional 10 parking spaces will be offered to the buyers of the two bedroom condos and sold on a first come first serve basis, limited to 1 space per condo. Pricing for these additional parking spaces has not been announced.

There are 16 condos that have a published flooring allowance for buyers to utilize to complete the unfinished flooring in those units.

Auction terms not present or unclear

I have not found any mention of a builder’s or developer’s warranty for the condos or property. I have also not been able to verify that either Compass Bank or Metlife will be offering guaranteed financing. If this is not the case, any difficulty with obtaining a mortgage could result in the loss of your earnest money and a lawsuit as outlined above. This is a very key point to keep in mind considering the West End condo project is not currently FHA warrantable, which makes obtaining conventional financing more difficult. I strongly recommend that you fully vet your finances with your preferred lender prior to the auction. Typically, an auction company secure a couple of banks to offer guaranteed financing, but this does not appear to be the case with this auction as it was with the successful Terrazzo auction last week.

The auctioneers and/or developer reserve the right to change or amend any or all of the above terms and conditions at any time prior to or during the auction. They have also reserved the right to stop the auction at any point they deem reasonable. The order in which the condos are auctioned and when/if the absolute units will be auctioned during the sale is also unclear at this date. I have also not been able to verify that three bedroom buyers will be prohibited from purchasing additional parking on the day of the sale.

Auction representation and consultation

Should you choose to utilize a broker to represent your interests and consult with you during the auction, no additional fees will be required. In other words, you gain a broker’s experience and guidance at no cost.

I would like for you to consider taking advantage of my knowledge and services during this auction as I am uniquely qualified to advise you during this process. Should you choose to avail yourself of my services, I have made the buyer’s registration form available here for your convenience. Please complete this form and fax or email to the numbers listed on the form. Do not hesitate to call me at anytime with any questions: 615-945-7123

Why Grant Hammond

In addition to being the foremost expert in the Nashville condo market, I own an interest in RealtyTrust Auctioneers, LLC. The experience and knowledge I have gained from working with principle auctioneer E. Dwight O’Neal has uniquely honed my ability to help guide condo buying decisions in an auction atmosphere. There are certain methods and strategies that can be employed during the auction process which can lead to purchasing at a lesser price.

Additionally, I will continue to receive updates from all parties and principles to the auction prior to and during the auction. Invariably, this information usually changes the buying strategy on auction day.

Below is a complete list of West End condos to be auctioned.