A 104-year-old home designed by the man responsible for many of Tacoma’s historic gems will be auctioned this month.
It’s not a foreclosure. The home isn’t in disrepair – in fact, it’s been lovingly restored since 1997. The owners simply are ready for something smaller, and the traditional method of advertising and waiting for buyers hasn’t worked.
Martha and Patrick Mendenhall came up with their own auction process after listing their home for a year and getting nowhere. Starting Jan. 21, they’ll accept bids for a week. They’ve settled on an opening bid of $475,000 or a buy-it-now price of $525,000.
On Jan. 29, they’ll make their decision.
Martha Mendenhall was a real estate agent until last fall, when she stopped that work to raise her granddaughter.
“I specialized in historic homes. I’ve done a lot of creative marketing, but here I am with my own house, that’s probably one of the best inside, with original woodwork, Ambrose Russell is the architect, and we can’t get it sold,” she said this week. “We’ve gotten to the point that we really want to move on.”
These days, home auctions typically are associated with foreclosed or bank-owned homes. But home auctions were increasing even before the real estate market busted. The National Auctioneers Association, based in Kansas, tracked homes sold by auction between 2003 and 2008, and saw a 7 percent to 8 percent increase each year.
“Auctions work in good times and bad,” association spokesman Chris Longly said Thursday. Auctions offer the certainty of a time and date of sale. They also are a way for more unusual properties, like historic homes, to find out what price the market will bear.
Gary Gestson, a Realtor with Maryland-based HistoricHomeTeam.com, said Thursday that owners crafting their own auction is somewhat unusual, because the pool of buyers for historic homes is small.
“Maybe six out of a thousand qualified buyers will be interested in your home,” he said. “Marketing is the key. If you market to Tyvek and particle board people, you’ll be frustrated.”
Mendenhall knows her audience. She’s a member of the North Slope Historic District board. She has placed ads in magazines popular with the restoration crowd, and has set up a website, gr8home.com, about the home and auction.
The new owner “will care about the history of the house, not just somebody who needs five bedrooms and three bathrooms.”
The home, at 710 N. I St., was designed by Russell and his partner Everett Babcock. Built in 1907, it’s one of several homes on North I Street with Russell’s stamp, including the Rust Mansion and a smaller colonial across the street from the Mendenhall home. Russell, with other partners, also designed the governor’s mansion in Olympia and Stadium High School.
According to the Tacoma Public Library’s building index, the Mendenhalls are the sixth owners of the 4,700-square-foot home. They bought it in 1997 for $265,000. It has original floors, windows and wood paneling throughout. The kitchen was renovated a year ago. Repairs to the interior have been minimal and done in the home’s tradition, including built-in book cases.
“Our house doesn’t feel like a museum,” Mendenhall said. “We raised three girls there. We made sure it’s a livable house.”
Kathleen Cooper: 253-597-8546 kathleen.cooper@thenewstribune.com
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