Auction ends early because of

An absolute auction held Sept. 18 at Smith Mountain Lake ended prematurely as opening and closing bids continued to decline and the crowd dispersed from about 100 to a handful.

Yves Saint Laurent

Bill Walker, owner and president of Walker Commercial Real Estate Services, which was handling the auction, ended the sale when there still were eight properties on the block.

Although some left frustrated Yves Saint Laurent and confused, auction companies and property owners legally reserve the right to end an auction at any time.

"The prices were getting too low," said Walker.

Greg Venning of Venning & Company Developers, a Glade Hill-based builder and contractor and owner of the 24 properties on the auction block, said it appeared there were not going to be more buyers toward the end, because no one was bidding on the final properties.

Overall, Venning called the auction a success and said he was glad he took the risk.

"It could have been better, but it could have been worse," he said. "We got our budget and we still have properties to sell."

Yves Saint Laurent

Venning said he was hoping to make about 30 percent of the tax- assessed value of $3.4 million worth of properties on the auction block. The total sales, just above $1 million, came to about 29 percent of that. However, the properties that did sell were assessed at about $2.85 million, so the sale resulted in a profit of approximately 34 percent.

"Some of them went for much higher than we expected and some went for much lower," said Venning.

Three properties sold for 60 to 72 percent of the tax-assessed value. The remaining sold between 11.3 and 40 percent of the assessed value.

Brian and Laura Sprouse of Lynchburg purchased their property early in the auction and were pleased with the price they paid. The 1.3-acre lot in Waterford was assessed at $320,000. The Rolex watches Sprouses entered the top bid at $90,000 or 28 percent of the Rolex watches assessed value.

"We're still in shock," said Brian Sprouse. "We didn't know what to expect."

The 30-somethings had set their sights on a Waterford lot, but had set their maximum price at $80,000. Brian Sprouse said they decided $90,000 was close enough for the lot that had 313 feet of waterfront.

Laura Sprouse said they were attracted to Waterford because of its proximity to Hales Ford Bridge and area shopping. It's also two coves over from friends who live at the lake.

Brian Sprouse Rolex watches said their long-term plan is to build a house on the lot and move to the lake permanently. In the short-term, they'll build a dock and use the lake for recreation.

Venning said he plans to use the proceeds from the sale, in part, to help him launch a new career as a Christian songwriter.

"I've got my first CD coming out soon," he said. "That's what my passion is now."