Lanny Wadkins' Preston Trails Home, Fairway Estate, Going Going SOLD! in Less Time Than I Can Finish a Drink

Yes, I am a slow drinker, but even Rhonda Needam with Dave Perry Miller and broker Rustin Smith thought it happened very fast. Tonight, of course, Concierge Auction sold off the Preston Trails home of golfer Lanny Wadkins, 6002 Kettering Court, without reserve.

I have to tell you I did not know until tonight that this home had a name, Fairway Estate.

You will recall this puppy was listed as far back as August, 2011 with Kevin Laszlo of Dave Perry Miller, for a whopping $2,995,000.  Then it was reduced to $2,449,000. THEN it was listed with Mike Brodie of Keller Williams for $2,295,000. The house is 9521 square feet, a big one, yes, but so is everything in Preston Trails. My my I passed a 10,000 plus square footer up there with a giant red ribbon around it and enormous red ball ornaments the size of a bulldozer, huge — like you would need a warehouse to store these! The Wadkins home has five huge bedrooms, five full baths and three half. There’s granite in the kitchen, even in His very well equipped office and Her’s, too. High ceilings. Pool. Curved walls and the Mediterranean thick texture paint that can be fixed, or might appeal to someone. I was very impressed with the master suite, actually: it was huge, as if the architect was told “size does not matter”. It featured a breakfast bar with storage that connected to Her study, a sunken sitting area, built-ins (granite topped) behind the bed, and a huge master bath with Kalista sinks and oceans of countertop space. Yes, it breathed the 80’s so much I felt shoulder pads growing on my shoulders. There were photos of Mrs. Wadkins looking like a gorgeous brunette Alexis Carrington.

God I loved Dynasty, so much better than today’s reality TV.

Lots of big windows, drapes. The house even has a sauna! And this must have been Lanny’s  “golf room” off the putting green (my fave). Look at all those clubs! Other features we heard over and over:

• Diving pool with spa and water feature
• 9-hole putting green and practice area
• Covered patio wired for sound/TV
• Aqualink pool system
• Shuffleboard court

The drive-up was very nice, and I love the stone. My husband tells me nearby Preston Trails is one of the best courses in the country. No duh, that’s why the Wadkins parked here.

“Great bones” said veteran Preston Trails agent Steve Rosenthal about the house. “Like all of us, it just needs a little fixing up.”

The home is right on the corner of Kettering and Preston Trails. I have heard that cars on Preston can be heard — get over it, that’s called an urban waterfall. The formals looked a little small, but I think that was because they were loaded with large pieces of furniture. I counted 26, maybe 27 bidders in the room, 4 on the phone.

Concierge likes to begin their auctions with a charity auction to get everyone warmed up. So it started with a $5000 value golf trip to play at Pebble Beach, stay at the Hyatt Regency in Monterrey, California and get there via American Air Lines, either to San Fran or San Jose. Value was $5000 and Habitat for Humanity was the beneficiary. The package went for $3100 and I am not sure who nabbed this, was it Mike Brodie? I was too comfy in the plush family room sofa. Unlike the M Mansion auction, Kettering Court was chock full of the furnishings and photos.

The auctioneer was, again, incredible, my buddy Frank Trunzo of Tampa… who had just returned from a Concierge Auction in Hawaii.

After charity, it was time for the Real auction.

Trunza at the M Mansion auction

“This is a home to raise memories,” said Trunza, who can pump a house even better than I can. “Six THOUSAND and two Kettering Court, a very livable, beautiful property.”

The opening bid was $500,000. Later, I was told that Concierge had actually had higher starting bids than that, but this is where Trunza started. But the number moved up quickly with Frank’s skill, skirting a million, then a million two, then up to $1.5 million. We took a break, then the bidding was up to $1.6. Another break, the last we were told. Let me tell you, you dare not go to the bathroom on these breaks, they are not that long. The house could be sold before you flush!

Frank worked his tongue like a thresher to inch that price up up up $1.625, $1.650, $1.675, trying to reach $1.7.

Then he did it some more, straining, until we were at $1,725,000. Wow, I thought, this house could go over asking price at this rate — asking was $2,295,000. Even my blood pressure was rising.

Frank called the 60 second rule, which is I guess like the ten second rule — and after 50 secs he began a countdown at 10, 9, 8, this to give the bidders a chance to really reach out there and grab the home of their dreams for a frickin’ steal.

Frank wanted $1,750,000 so bad he could taste it, I could taste it!

But the buyer(s) held firm: $1,725,000. Sold!

The buyer patted his face with a handkerchief — he was sweating up a storm!

Once again, out came the champagne on a silver tray. Hors D’oeuvres were passed. But this auction seemed to clear out more rapidly than the M Mansion. Maybe it was because everyone had places to go, Christmas parties to attend, and there were far fewer real estate agents in attendance.

So they did not break the listing price, but they broke $1.5, which is where I thought things might hover. Someone told me the house needed a million dollars of work — I disagree. $250,000, maybe more, but what I liked best about this home was the good vibes it gave off, positive karma. It was and is a happy house, something Concierge conveyed in their collateral materials: the home and the auction was commemorated in a book, almost like a wedding, or a TV series: Fairway Estate.