456 Ponderosa in Incline Village is a pretty extraordinary place, but pretty spendy for a non lakefront property. 5 Acres with spectacular Lake Tahoe views, 13,000 SF of living space. There is a video tour here. (the following video about the Ponderosa Ranch is also worth viewing!)
The property was purchased on 24 May 2000 at the height of the dot-com boom for $11,990,000. It looks like it was a cash deal.
– 6/13/2002 – HELOC $405,000. Reconveyed 1/21/204.
– 1/5/2004 – Refi / new loan – $1,200,000 125% Option ARM.
– 10-13-2005 – Refi $2,500,000, 6.5% adjustable.
– 6/14/2008 – This looks like a $540,000 HELOC, due in 1 year.
– 12-2-2009 – Hard money second for $1,200,000 ($1,500,000 maximum). The maturity date wasn’t stated, but looks to be a short fuse.
– 9/10/2010 – Hard money 2nd amended to extend the term to 1 May 2011. Loan amount increased to $1,450,000, and tons of fees and conditions were imposed. It is recorded as doc 3920856 if you are interested.
– 5/6/2011 – NOD filed by the hard money folks. The filing hasn’t posted yet, but it will be doc 4000858.
I think the recorded debt is about $4.5M. The house has been on and off the market since 2008 with a high listing of $12,950,000 and a low of $9,200,000 when the listing was removed in April. 11 year hold, with a minimum $2.7M loss if it were to sell at the last list price. I think there must be a lot going on behind the scenes on this one.
And buried at the end is a CommRow update! RNO has seen a lot of traffic from the Chi-town money folks lately. The sale of the garage and the mystery "programming" agreement for the train trench cover are both coming up at the City Council / Redevelopment Agency meeting on Wednesday the 11th at noon. The hearings are broadcast locally on Charter channel 213, and the city website has an on-line streaming option. The Staff Reports have been posted, and the sale of the garage is recommended. Duh. I think you might see the old Fernando cheerleading for Reno show up at this meeting, not the sniveller he has been forced to be lately.
Corina
Nice picture of the Cartwrights. They are all dead now, and about a quarter of the American population has never heard of them. Really, try singing the Bonanza theme song to a typical 20 something today. Blank looks.
inclinejj
I read a great Book about Anderson who owned the Ponderosa Ranch..
The guy Anderson, had an amazing life story. Started a wrecking yard in the Bay Area at 15.
“Bill’s Big Bonanza: The Autobiography of a Third-Grade Dropout Who Came to Build, Own and Operate the World’s Most Famous Ranch.”
Tim
Mike,
Absolutely uncanny that you should mention this property. Took the family up to Tahoe last weekend, and my wife lamented the fact that the Ponderosa was no longer open. She asked what had become of the place.
So, I searched Wikipedia. It gives the impression that Anderson’s son had the ranch until 2004, when it was sold because “property values were so high” (nice job on the timing there, by the way….).
Anyway, you have much more credibility than Wiki, so it seems the place was sold way back in 2000. Still, the article mentions that 2004 was its biggest (and last) year, with an attendance of over 250,000. It speculates further about the possibility of the park re-opening at some future date. It doesn’t seem that that would be in the cards at this point, esp. with reference to the default you list above.
So, it’s just a sad story all the way around. The silicon valley dude bought the place for way too much, closed it to the public after its biggest year, and now sits in default.
Thanks buddy, lots of childhood memories gone down the tubes. And along with it the hubris of not one, but two, bubbles. The likes of which will not be witnessed again soon.
slingshot
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think this listing is for the old Ponderosa Ranch.