When Natasha’s Billiards and Lounge, a once-popular downton Emporia gathering spot, goes on the auction block Monday morning, bidders will need to ante up almost $350,000 to clear its debts.
The land, building and inventory at 627 Commercial St., will be auctioned at 10 a.m. Monday at the Lyon County Courthouse.
According to Larry Putnam, an attorney for ESB Financial, the property and its inventory is being sold to make up for approximately $22,000 in real estate taxes owed to the county.
Putnam said the county will get taxes owed to it first, and then the lien-holders will get money owed on any mortgages. ESB Financial is the first lien-holder, with two mortgages, one worth approximately $119,000 and one worth about $110,000, not including interest. The Small Business Administration holds a mortgage worth about $87,000, Putnam said.
That puts the full price tag to clear the debt at $338,000.
But, the Lyon County appraiser puts the value of the property, not including the inventory, at $239,400 — $8,380 for the land and $231,020 for the building.
That’s a difference of $98,600 for the business that was opened in 2005 by Eric Johnson and Becky Church. For years, it drew a regular crowd of people looking for a place to relax and shoot pool.
The $100,000 difference between what the county says the real estate is worth and what is owed on it may not matter to some bidders, according to Jeff Kitselman, an agent with Ek Real Estate.
“If there is someone motivated, with this location, they might pay more” than the appraised value. “And again, inventory is going to be a big part of that, too, if someone’s just going to turn around and continue it as it is right now, a bar with pool tables, and if a lot of that inventory’s there, that’s definitely the best value for that. That’ll bring top dollar for that clientele.”
Although he’s handled properties in downtown Emporia, Kitselman was hesitant to offer an estimate on the property.
“It’s one of those I’d like to see before I try and quote a number on that,” he said. “I would think a building like that, someone that is wanting to use that property as it is right now, I would think that’s where the most value is going to be.”
Putnam, ESB Financial’s attorney, said it was hard to predict how much interest there will be in the auction. Public interest in the property depends on the value of the mortgage and the value of the property, he said.
“If the property’s value is greater than the mortgage, then there are a lot of bidders; if the value is less, then there aren’t.”
Kitselman said he hopes the sale brings a good turnout.
“If it brings good money, that’ll say a lot about the economy here.”
Comments
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malachi22x (anonymous) says...
Does anyone know how this auction went today?
December 1, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kcfan (anonymous) says...
The auction never took place. KVOE has some new info about an IRS tax lien, however rumor is that this business was purchased 2 weeks ago. Much of the information in this article is incorrect.
December 1, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
If this business was purchased two weeks ago, how is it that ESB and the Feds stopped procedures? There's another more up-to-date story on this in Monday's paper.
December 1, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )