Cleveland, Ohio. In what is believed to be the first successful sale of a foreign real estate asset by Open Outcry Auction in the United States, National Association of Realtors member Dutton Auction & Realty Co., successfully engineered the sale of Middle Island, Lake Erie, Ontario Canada. The forty-nine-acre private island is actually the southernmost land area in all of Canada. The auction was held at the Holiday Inn Cleveland, Ohio, airport Hotel. There were six bidders, each with cashiers checks for US$35,000 who registered to bid on the property. Four of the bidders were from the U.S., and two of the bidders were from Canada. The successful high bidder for the property was the Nature Conservancy of Canada who prevailed at a price of US$867,000 (C$1,312,000). The minimum bid for the property had been US$585,000.
Middle Island had been owned for the last thirty years by a family group from Cincinnati, Ohio. Title to the island was held by a corporate entity, Middle Island (Erie) Investments, Ltd. The ownership's decision to offer the property at auction rather than through a conventional negotiated sale was based on the fact that there were no comparable sales available for such an asset. Ownership did not know what to ask for the property. They were concerned that the marketplace would not be sure what to offer for the property without the use of an open outcry real estate auction.
Inquiries for the property had been received by the Dutton Organization from fourteen states and four provinces of Canada. The island had no physical improvements and had essentially become a nature preserve over the last ten years. Middle Island is zoned an Environmental Protection Area by the Township of Pelee, Canada Zoning Authority. The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has allowed all North American Investors to seek acquisitions throughout Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, no matter what their citizenship. Title insurance and escrow services for the sale were provided by the Cleveland Office of First American Title Insurance Company.
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Auction of the Year Award
- Presented in Norfolk, Virginia
The National Auctioneers Association
(NAA) presented their "Auction of the Year Award" on July 20,2000 at their Annual Convention in Norfolk, Virginia. The prize went to Joel D. Dutton of Dutton Auction & Realty Company from Navarre, Ohio. The recognition was for the open outcry real estate auction sale of the Southernmost Land Area in Canada, Middle Island, which is located in the middle of Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. The fifty-acre island was zoned environmental protection, and sold on July 28, 1999 at auction for a price of US$867,000 (C$1,312,000). The National Auctioneers Association chooses annually the most outstanding real estate auction conducted by its 6,000 members.
Joel Dutton, who was the Auctioneer and one of the Brokers in the sale, stated, "The implementation of the NAFTA Treaty, which many have viewed as a significant accomplishment of the Clinton Administration, allowed the auction to be held in Cleveland, Ohio with the bidding and the closing in US Dollars. The shareholders of the corporation that owned the island were all US nationals who wished the property to be bid in US currency and the sale conducted in the US. Title Insurance and Escrow services were provided by First American Title Insurance Company through their Midland Title Company Offices in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The passage of NAFTA has made the transaction of commerce among all North American nations much more transparent."
"Real Estate Assets such as Middle Island that are of interest to investors from both Canada and the US, can now be sold effectively from either side of the border. The considerations for holding the real estate auction at the Holiday Inn Hotel near the Cleveland Hopkins Airport were both for the convenience of the seller and for easy air access to bidders located on both sides of Lake Erie," said Joel Dutton. The purchaser was the Nature Conservancy of Canada, who wire transferred US Dollars to the Cleveland based Midland Title Company as escrow agent to close the deal."
"Real Estate Assets such as Middle Island that are of interest to investors from both Canada and the US, can now be sold effectively from either side of the border. The considerations for holding the real estate auction at the Holiday Inn Hotel near the Cleveland Hopkins Airport were both for the convenience of the seller and for easy air access to bidders located on both sides of Lake Erie," said Joel Dutton. The purchaser was the Nature Conservancy of Canada, who wire transferred US Dollars to the Cleveland based Midland Title Company as escrow agent to close the deal."
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