Want to live in Riverside’s priciest single-family home? You have a chance to buy it for a bargain on July 27, when it goes up for auction promptly at 2 p.m.
Built in 2002 and 2003, the ivy-covered French chateau-style home at 122 Nuttall Road has been on the market for more than a year. Listed initially at close to $4 million, the asking price has fallen over the months to $2.4 million.
But in two weeks, the house will go to the highest bidder when the gavel sounds, meaning that the house could sell for far less.
“It will be sold to the highest bidder regardless of price,” said Scott Kirk, executive vice president of Grand Estates Auction Company, a Charlotte, N.C.-based firm conducting the sale.
And the buyer won’t be getting a distressed property or one that’s in foreclosure. The owners simply are looking to move the property quickly, according to Kirk. The market will ultimately determine what the house is worth, he said.
The home’s owner, Desmond Varady, declined to talk to the Landmark about the auction, referring all questions to Grand Estates. Kirk said that the couple has elderly relatives in Florida who they want to be close to.
“They want to relocate to Florida,” Kirk said. “Since the house has been on the market for over a year, the timeline is accelerated.”
This is no ordinary house. Inside the 8,500-square-foot residence, bidders will find six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half baths. Of course, luxury is the name of the game, from the gourmet kitchen with professional appliances and hand-hewn wood beams salvaged from a Wisconsin farm to the media room, game room, library, fireplaces and English-style garden. According to the auction brochure, the rooms are accented by imported decorative items, flooring and lighting fixtures.
Yes, there’s an in-ground pool, a 10-person spa and a wine room for storage of up to 700 bottles.
The owners bought the property in 2001 for $575,000 and in 2002 took out a $3.2 million construction loan, according to county property records. When the property was re-assessed in 2004, it officially became the home with the highest single-family property taxes in the village of Riverside.
In 2001, prior to the old house being demolished, taxes on 122 Nuttall Road were $9,362, according to Riverside Township Assessor Fran Sitkiewicz. By 2005, with the new home finished, the taxes were $75,829 per year. In 2008, property taxes were pegged at $63,555 annually.
And don’t bother showing up to rubberneck and see who the new neighbors might be. If you want into the auction room, you have to be serious.
Each bidder has to provide the auction house a certified check (made out to the bidder’s name) for $50,000 to gain entry. If you end up losing out on the house, your check will be returned to you. If you end up as the home’s new owner, you can put that 50 grand toward the 10 percent down payment you need to make. Oh, and you have to close on the property within 30 days.
