Regatta condominiums on Lake Hartwell up for auction

By the time construction wrapped on the Regatta at Lake Hartwell in 2009, the nation’s economy had bottomed out. Six of the 22 units in the gated community today are spoken for, and county records show they are fetching tens of thousands of dollars below the builders’ original estimates.

“It took us too long to build them,” Craft said.

Rather than continue to wait for buyers to trickle in, Craft said, the time seemed right to hand over sales to one of the largest auction companies in the Southeast — the National Auction Group of Alabama.

“This property is not in distress,” said Craft, 40. “It’s paid for. We just didn’t know how to market this — luxury properties in this market.”

Sixteen condominiums go on the auction block at 3 p.m. June 25, and 10 of them have no minimum price. The Regatta is about two miles northwest of S.C. 24’s intersection with Whitehall Road. By water, it is less than two miles northeast from one of S.C. 24’s two Hartwell Lake bridges.

William Bone, president of the National Auction Group, said his company has auctioned about 1,000 condos in the past three years, most of them along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’ve never seen nicer,” he said of the Regatta property. “They are right on the water. They are breathtaking.”

Bone’s staff have built a website about the auction, advertised in regional newspapers and developed a sales video about the property. National Auction personnel are also on site every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the June 25 to let people tour the units.

So far the auction has generated queries and visits from families in Atlanta, Charlotte, Florida, Seneca, Greenville, Florida and Ohio.

Previously, the developers’ asking price for the units — $550,000 to $650,000 — had drawn little interest despite the condominiums’ sturdy construction, direct access to deep water on Hartwell Lake, county sewer service, 10-foot ceilings inside and manicured lawns outside.

Decks are made of weather-resistant composite planking, and an engineer from Greenville designed the sound-proofing between units. Every unit comes with a boat slip in one of two large docks. A third courtesy dock lets visitors tie their boats on.

Bone said anyone who wants to bid has to be able to write a $25,000 check on the day of the auction. The high bidder must then put down 10 percent of the total purchase price that day. The company is offering a 1 percent discount for people who close that day with cash, and owner financing is available.

Lake Hartwell SC fishing report with Up-Close Outfitters guide ...

. Ran a guide today on Lake Hartwell for stiped bass . Headed N up the Senica River. Picked up the clients around 11:00am and started looking for bait around Camp Creek. Checked several places on the way up North. Fish have completely moved out of Red Banks area. The next stop is always just before West Cherry Road on large flat. Found tons of bait and birds spread throughout often on the outside edges along the drop offs leading into the larger flat. Marked lots of fish and bait mixed throughout the underwater channel running N to S in the middle of the flat. Sat here all day. Fishing was real slow in the AM with absolutely no wind. Caught 2 or 3 in the calm wind. Around 3 pm the wind picked up and we began catching more. Jigged 1 1/2 oz and 1 oz jigging spoons to produce about 15 stripers. Several pushing 10 pounds and greater.

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