17 days ago
RANCHO MURIETA, CA - Real estate professionals in this upscale golf community are questioning the circumstances surrounding the sale of a bank-owned luxury home to the son of a bank insider. "It doesn't pass the smell test," one broker told News10.
Lightning-fast sale
The 3,800 square foot home on De La Pena Circle in the exclusive neighborhood known as the Fairways was listed for sale in August at up to $200,000 below fair market value, according to brokers and agents familiar with Rancho Murieta real estate. The home, priced at $460,000, remained on the market for exactly 13 minutes.
"I was shocked. I think everybody was shocked," said Peggie Miller of M & M Distinctive Properties. Miller had tried for two years to help the previous owner sell the property with an initial asking price over $1 million.
Miller described the four-bedroom, three-bathroom custom home as "stunning," with double glass entry doors, a separate master suite, granite countertops and an outdoor kitchen with a four-tiered fountain nearby.
"It was anybody's dream home," she said.
After multiple price reductions, Miller received an offer on the house for $660,000 as the property went into foreclosure. When the buyer backed out, the home was sold at a courthouse auction back to the lender, US Bank, on July 28.
Two weeks later, US Bank listed the house for sale with Rancho Murieta Homes & Land. A transaction history from the Metrolist multiple listing service shows the listing went active on Aug. 13 at 10:46 a.m. The status was changed to "pending" at 10:59 a.m., meaning an offer had been accepted by the bank.
"Thirty-two years in the business and I've never seen anything like that," said Ina Semrau, owner of Rancho Murieta's Town & Country Real Estate.
New owner revealed
The name of the buyer was revealed when the sale closed and the deed was recorded on Sept. 4.
The new owner, Lance Merrihew, is the son of Linda Merrihew, the asset manager at US Bank who guided the property through the foreclosure process and who lives in Rancho Murieta. News10 made repeated attempts to contact the Merrihews.
Rancho Murieta Homes & Land reported the sale at $460,000, although tax records list the price at $465,000. Metrolist records show Rancho Murieta Homes & Land represented both the bank and the buyer for an estimated commission of $28,000.
The owner of the real estate firm had previously sold a home to Linda Merrihew in 2007 and to Lance Merrihew in 2004.
"We only did what the bank told us to do," owner Karen Hoberg told News10 last week as she left her office to meet a client. After first agreeing to an interview the following day to discuss specific elements of the transaction, Hoberg cancelled and referred further questions to US Bank.
Real estate professionals said banks will often list homes below market value but will leave the listing open for a period of time to generate multiple offers and a bidding war. That clearly did not happen with the house on De La Pena Circle.
US Bank response
News10 asked US Bank spokeswoman Teri Cherest in Minneapolis to review the transaction.
"It is our practice to immediately accept an offer that is at or above list price. Our primary goal is to move the property as quickly as possible," Cherest said in a written response. "To answer your question, we do not restrict immediate family members of employees from purchasing bank-owned property. However we do require a sales agent from outside the bank be assigned, which is what happened in this case."
Cherest said US Bank set the listing price at $460,000 based on an appraisal which the bank would not provide for review.
Carole Thames of Town & Country Real Estate said 11 Realtors from three different companies gathered at the Rancho Murieta clubhouse Oct. 13 to discuss the bank-owned sale. Thames contacted News10 following the meeting. "It's a buzz in the real estate industry out here and it's also a buzz within our community," she said. "How did it happen, and who was looking out for who? Who was looking out for the neighborhood?"
Home prices affected
The sale appears to have had an immediate impact on the value of other homes in the neighborhood. Broker Ina Semrau spoke to News10 at one of her listings on the golf course around the corner. A deal for $850,000 collapsed because an appraisal could not support the price.
Semrau blamed the US Bank transaction for grossly skewing values downward. "Just in my office, three transactions have been affected by this ridiculously low sale," she said.
Clint Souza, a homeowner who lives on De La Pena Circle, said he and his wife have dropped plans to sell their house because of the bank-owned sale down the street.
"I didn't believe it when I first heard it," Souza said. "120 dollars a square foot? That's ridiculous." Souza said he's a regular follower of the home value Web site Zillow, which estimated the value of the neighboring home at $708,000, or $186 per square foot.
Peggie Miller, who had previously listed the house, said she continues to get questions about it. "We can't go to dinner without somebody stopping and saying 'Hey, what happened? How did THAT happen?'"
Miller said prospective buyers touring her listing around the corner from the De La Pena house are asking why her price is $300,000 higher. "If they (US Bank) can substantiate a $460,000 price, then I think this whole community's going to be in trouble," Miller said.
by George Warren, GWarren@news10.net
News10/KXTV
