Platinum Luxury Auctions Reschedules North Carolina Sale Following Record Storm

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The planned auction of a beautiful 13-acre estate in Valle Crucis, North Carolina will be rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy, the devastating storm that has been donned a "superstorm." The auction was planned for November 3, 2012. Platinum Luxury Auctions, one of the nation's leading auction firms for the sale of high-end real estate, was conducting the sale in cooperation with Mountain Sotheby's International Realty, located in neighboring Banner Elk, North Carolina.

"Although we carefully plan each luxury auction sale, we can't always account for Mother Nature's agenda," said Trayor Lesnock, Platinum's president and founder.  Mr. Lesnock noted the storm had a doubly negative effect on the auction, with the extreme weather pummeling both the property's immediate market area and the market areas where the majority of the interested buyers were located, primarily in the northeast United States.

To be sure, Sandy accelerated both the timing and severity of the winter season in Valle Crucis and the surrounding areas, dumping nearly two feet of snow and causing temperatures to plummet into the low 30's. In other coastal areas such as New York and New Jersey in particular, hundreds of properties were destroyed due to flooding, fire and winds. CNN news reported that the death toll caused by the storm reached 157 people as of November 1^st, at least 88 of those being in the U.S.

David Enriquez, Platinum's senior project manager and the firm's lead associate for the auction sale, confirmed many of the prospective bidders were affected by the storm. "Several top prospects cancelled their scheduled property visit due to the weather, and many others cancelled planned visits in order to attend to the safety of their families and even to their other properties in the northeast. When someone is in life preservation mode, purchasing a luxury mountain home moves dramatically down the list of priorities. We just hope that everyone is keeping safe and sound as they recover from the storm's effects," said Mr. Enriquez.

Despite the delay, the property's owners remain committed to the sale. "Platinum did an excellent job of communicating with us and discussing our options and strategies when this storm started to take shape, and it was clear that rescheduling the sale made the most sense," stated Philip Cohen, who owns the property with his wife Genie. The 6,800 square foot residence was listed for sale for $4 million prior to the auction, where it would have been offered to the highest bidder above $2.25 million.

According to Mr. Lesnock, the rescheduled auction date will likely be in the spring of 2013 when Platinum will have several other North Carolina properties scheduled for sale. The property will remain available for purchase until the spring auction. Interested parties may contact Platinum Luxury Auctions at 1.800.262.5132 or visit PlatinumLuxuryAuctions.com. The property's dedicated webpage is CarolinaLuxuryAuction.com.

SOURCE Platinum Luxury Auctions