Marion Serelis is about to roll the dice in a big, big way. On April 6, she will take a multimillion-dollar gamble when she sells her spectacular "Great White Heron Estate" on Sugarloaf Key at absolute auction.
In other words, the estate will be sold that day, no matter how high or low the final bid.
Ms. Serelis hopes that final bid is high. Bidders, however, will be looking for low. She could win the lottery or lose a bundle.
When many people hear the word "auction," they immediately think distressed property and courthouse steps. That's not the case any more. Quite often, very wealthy people are choosing this method, thanks to the speed of sale and to the capacity of the auction process to determine true market value.
Ms. Serelis knows that on April 6, win, lose or draw, the process will be over, whereas selling very high end properties like this one by traditional means can often take months and sometimes years.
The company conducting the sale, The National Auction Group, sold Senator Lloyd Bentsen's 10,000 acre south Texas ranch in 1997 and an Orange Beach, Alabama, mansion last May for $6.7 million.
Last November, they sold the estate owned by entertainer Kenny Rogers for $6.3 million. The company also auctioned off another Sugarloaf estate last November for $1.4 million.
If you're looking for a little hide-a-way up the Keys, you may want to call 1-800-648-6435 for information about the April 6 auction.