Déja vu: Halsey Minor's farm back into foreclosure proceedings
An email to Minor was not immediately returned. FILE PHOTOS BY JAY KUHLMANN, HAWES SPENCER
Less than a month after he agreed to buy it out of one foreclosure auction, bi-coastal internet titan (and center of Charlottesville's unfinished-hotel storm) Halsey Minor is once again facing the prospect of losing the farm.
Last time, it was a million-dollar second mortgage on his plush 205-acre Fox Ridge Farm that he allegedly defaulted; this time it is the much-larger first deed of trust, a $6.52 million note.
In public filings accompanying some of his litigation with creditors and in comments to reporters, Minor has insisted that his income has actually been rising, but if he's missing monthly payments on his mortgages, that suggests some sort of a financial crisis.
"He's definitely got financial problems," says real estate lawyer Cheri Lewis. "The thing speaks for itself."
Minor, however, claims that the lenders simply "like advertising."
Fox Ridge, which Minor purchased for an undisclosed sum in 1999, features stellar Blue Ridge views, about a mile of Moormans River frontage, and one of Abemarle County's largest equestrian barns.
In the last foreclosure auction, in which the allegedly defaulted amount was around $1 million, Minor himself was the high bidder. Under terms of the auction, he had to bring just $75,000 to the auction and was given 30 days to settle the transaction, i.e. until February 3. In the new alleged default, however, any potential bidder must bring a minimum cash or cashier's check of $325,000 and must settle within just 15 days.
The sale, according to the legal notice published in the Daily Progress, is set for the steps of the Albemarle County Courthouse on February 18 at 3pm.
Although he declined to comment, one likely bidder will be Mark Giles, the holder of the million-dollar second mortgage, as any failure to satisfy the first deed could eat into the value of his loan.
–last updated 10:21am Tuesday
17 comments
Sharp eyes to find that public notice!
I walk past that place everyday on my AM dog walks. It is a lovely property. Minor is an odd character along the lines of Craig Winn, Peter Licata and Rex Scatena.
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And Winn and Scatena also had to put their houses on the market, I think.
has anyone walked past that shell of a building downtown.
what an eyesore.
he is done.
everything else is smoke.
this is not ny or cal.
here you put your money where your mouth is.
the word your looking for is was.
as in he was .
and we hope he is savvy enough to finnish what he started.
what is a carpetbagger?
a tom conway
thank you to you.
js.
So, Minor has until 3 February to cough up the remainder of the $1 million outstanding on the 2nd mortgage, plus the $352,000 (minimum) couple of weeks later, not to mention the rest of the $6.25 million by the end of the month. I'm certain for a Master of the Universe such as Halsey Minor, that's just chump change (I bet he's looking through the sofa cushions as we speak). And I'm sure it's just a matter of time until he makes good on his pledge to complete The Landmark. An astute businessman and dynamic, charismatic risk taker such as Mr Minor can't be bothered with such 'minor' details as paying his mortgage. Yeah, that Halsey Minor; Charlottesville's answer to Donald Trump. Maybe if we're really lucky, he'll turn The Landmark into a casino...
Pete Deer
a"strategic default" does not absolve you from the debt, so if he has the money and defaults they will nail him in court and sieze his other asets.
He is most probably broke.
The city should condemn the building as blight.
The property is technically owned by "Fox Ridge Farm LLC," (limited liability corporation) for exactly this reason. "Halsey Minor" as "himself" doesn't "own" this property. An entity he created owns the place.
Bloom, nope Winn never had to put his house up for sale. He came out just fine from the Value America crash-n-burn.
... Winn came out fine, unlike most of the other investors and employees of Value America.
twwetbird makes a good point about the possibility of a deficiency judgment. If I'm not mistaken, it would need to be done as a "short sale" in order for Minor to avoid having to pay a deficiency. I think what will happen is that Minor will assert a claim that the bidding was "collusive" given Mark Giles role in bidding up the price. He will file some kind of dilatory claim and try to keep this tied up for a while. Where I think things will get interesting is how his creditors will attack his assets in the event of a deficiency judgment. It seems very likely, based on Minor's pattern of cross collateralize his assets with multiple loans (like artwork) and his clear pattern of deception and commingling of funds, that his creditors can "pierce the veil" and go after this punk for everything of value he has left. Minor is completely finished, the noose is tightening.....
Even in "recourse" states trials for remainder due are costly and rarely pursued. The bank(s) have the asset back and can try to make $ back by reselling.
This is about Minor's farm, btw, not the Landmark. That hotel will never be completed unless the City (and UVA) take it over.
There comes a time in everymans life when he just needs to whip it out and prove that he has what he has been bragging about. Now is the time.. pull it out and lay it on the table sir. Show the world what it is you have been bragging about possessing. Show the world that you have what it take to stand erect with pride, unashamed for the world to see the size of your .............wallet.
How thye hell could anyone blow 350 million bucks in less than a decade?
Even if Minor doesn't pay, it doesn't mean he doesn't have the money to pay. He may be doing a "Strategic Default"-- walking away from the mortgage because it makes more sense to. Fox Ridge isn't worth what he paid for it.
And walking away says a big FU to Mark Giles.
Minor lives in California, where strategic defaults have ramped up. It's a movement gaining speed across the Country, and has started here. Yesterday, the debtors for Peter Stuyvestant Village in NYC, the largest real estate transaction ever, handed the keys back to the bank. $5.4 BILLION. Bye-bye.
Mr. Minor is as savvy as they come. Maybe he's broke, maybe he's not. But a foreclosure filing is no way to tell.
Harlowe-Powell auctions says in its contact that a property owner is forbidden by Virginia law to bid on his own property. How was it Halsey Minor, having defaulted on a mortgage, could bid on his own property and thus leave Mark Giles holding yet another worthless promise to pay?
STILL SHADY....
HUMMMMMMMMMM... CAN U SAY .. SHADY SHENANIGANS,,,