Sat, Jul 04, 2009
 This 3,100-square-foot luxury home and a guesthouse sit on an 11-acre parcel adjacent to 60 more acres of pristine, natural desert. The buyer of the estate won't pay taxes on those 60 acres — but they'll be kept forever as open space. And all of this is right next to Saguaro National Park. Dean Knuth / Arizona Daily Star
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RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Health Care Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator General A1 Communications Cable Techs Tucson RegionCounty officials hoping donated mansion will go for $1M+Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.14.2008
Pima County is dipping its toe in the real estate market and hoping it won't find the water too cold to earn some money for open space.
The property in question is a roomy 3,100-square-foot home, with a 1,200-square-foot guesthouse, on a 71-acre spread at the edge of Saguaro National Park West.
Last year, the home and the land were donated to the county on the condition that most of the land be preserved forever as open space.
The conditions of the donation allow the county to separate the house and guesthouse on an 11-acre parcel and sell the property, as long as the proceeds go to buy more open space.
Whoever buys the house will enjoy the same views the previous owners had, with a guarantee that the land will never be developed. And the owner won't have to pay taxes on most of the land, because it will remain county-owned.
Pretty sweet.
The property has been appraised at $1 million, which will be the opening bid when the home goes on the auction block.
A million dollars for a house, no matter how nice, might not seem like a steal to those of us of modest means.
But county officials said it might have been worth twice that much a year ago.
It is, as they say, a buyer's market.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the county doesn't want to hold onto the home and wait for the market to pick up because the county doesn't want the responsibility — and liability — of maintaining a vacant house.
The county's fear, one shared by most prospective home sellers these days, is that the buyers just won't show.
That's why the county may take the unusual step of hiring a real estate agent to market the property and drum up interest before it goes to auction.
The Board of Supervisors will consider a contract for the real estate agent today.
The agent Huckelberry wants to hire is Robin Sue Kaiserman, a top seller with Long Realty who was the first agent in Tucson to exceed $50 million in residential sales.
The contract says Long Realty cannot substitute another agent. Huckelberry said he wants someone with the right contacts and experience to draw wealthy buyers to the auction and, he hopes, bid up the price for the house.
Under the terms of the contract, Kaiserman would get paid a 6 percent commission if she secures an offer before the auction from a buyer who ends up being the high bidder, and she would get a 3 percent commission if the high bidder is represented by another agent or not represented at all.
If no one bids at least $1 million, Kaiserman wouldn't earn anything.
Huckelberry said he believes it would be the first time the county has hired a real estate agent to market a property, but then again, the county doesn't try to sell luxury homes very often.
● Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 807-7790 or emeltzer@azstarnet.com.
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