Two golf courses that were recently auctioned off received no bids other than the banks.
Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines was sold to West Bank for $5.25 million when the property failed to receive any other offers. The bank has been trying to sell the property since July when the country club defaulted on $7.8 million in loans.
According to Tom Flynn, the lawyer representing West Bank, there were no other bidders and the bank’s bid covered only the land and buildings, not equipment or clubhouse furnishings. Flynn also said that bank officials would have considered selling the property for a bid above $5.2 million if there had been a cash bid. The bank is owed $8.3 million in loans made to the country club’s previous owners.
The Rebel Ridge Golf Club in Fredericton faced a similar fate during a recent mortgage sale. The Business Development Bank of Canada, which placed the only bid on the property, gained official ownership for $1 million.