Lack of Bidders Kills South Beach Hotel Auction Real Estate

The Daily Business Review quoted Michael Seese in an article about AUG, a New York-based equity fund, winning the purchase of Hotel St. Augustine in Miami Beach at a bankruptcy aution. Seese stated that AUG, was owed almost $5.5 million including principal, interest, fees and costs on its $5 million loan when the hotel filed Chapter 11. According to the article, Hotel St. Augustine, a 22-room Art Deco building would have a slew of high-end buyers if it went on the market. The South Beach condo-hotel conversion project comes with one of those rare commodities in the cramped enclave -- an adjacent 6,500 square-foot parking lot within skipping distance of the beach. But no one beside the hotel's lender qualified when the boutique hotel built in 1937 and updated with trendy decor was set for auction last week. The article states that over the years, people would be willing to pay for property with land without hesitation. The hotel filed bankruptcy protection March 8th. During the auction, bidders were required to pay a $500,000 deposit however the $5 million wasn't worth it to the potential investors even thought lot it's estimated worth is $6.7 million.