Let the bidding begin
Sealed bids will be accepted by those interested in purchasing four flooded but refurbished homes now owned by Haywood County.
At Monday’s board meeting, county attorney Chip Killian presented two options for disposing of the homes. The county could advertise for sealed bids and then use an upset bid process to determine the ultimate high bidder. The other method was to negotiate a contract with an interested party and then advertise for upset bids.
Since there appear to be eight or nine parties interested in purchasing the homes, — with several vying for the same home — Killian recommended the sealed bid process. The homes in question are located in the Clyde area and were refurbished by volunteers following back-to-back floods in 2004. The owners, however, opted to participate in a state-funded buyout program which was intended to move dwellings out of flood areas.
Not knowing whether their application would be accepted, many homeowners continued working with volunteer agencies to have their homes restored. When word came almost two years later that funds would be available to pay the owner the pre-flood market value of their home, it placed many homeowners in a dilemma — stay or leave?
Fourteen homeowners who originally signed up with the buyout program choose to stay in their home, said Tony Sexton, the county’s hurricane recovery coordinator. In an earlier interview, he suggested the reason was largely because the volunteers helping with home rehabilitation did such a good job.
Four other property owners whose homes were rehabilitated opted for the buyout. Under the buyout, the county government was to assume ownership of the property and was charged with removing the dwelling.
Initially, that was interpreted as demolishing it, but further inquiries indicated the structure on the property could be sold as long as it was moved off site.
Under the requirements for bidding, it will be stipulated the home must be moved off the property and is being sold “as is,” commissioners agreed. The successful bidder will have up to Oct. 20 to move the structure.
The initial sealed bid process will end in mid-February, said Sexton. An official legal notice is being prepared that includes the details.
“Hopefully some of these structures can be salvaged and put to use,” said Board Chairman Larry Ammons.
Sexton said in a later interview that all funds received from the house sales will be returned to the state, the entity that originally provided the funds.
“But it does save us in that these homes will not be going into the landfill,” Sexton said. “And they will be homes for four families.”
