Source: http://www.tennessean.com/

After several years of sitting nearly vacant, a residential waterfront project in Ashland City is ready for buyers.

The Braxton Condominiums, which sit along the Cumberland River, held a grand opening on Saturday to give potential buyers a glimpse of the properties up for sale.

The 136-unit project was purchased in April for $14.575 million by Louisville, Colo.,-based Real Capital Solutions through a foreclosure.

Patten Sales and Marketing LLC, which bills itself as the nation’s largest buyer, seller and marketer of bank-owned condominiums and distressed properties, is now bringing the Braxton property to market.

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Published on Wed, May 22, 2013 by Brandy Kiger ShreveFor years, the Marin condominiums were a blight on the waterside. Half-finished, boarded up and surrounded by a chain-link fence they sat darkly vacant on the shore after being foreclosed on by the bank. They were a stark reminder of the real estate bubble that burst.

However, things have changed. Last July, Florida-based Patten Real Estate, a firm that specializes in distressed properties, bought the condominiums and set to work. Building A was finished in August. Now, with the housing market on the rise, the 18-unit Building B is also complete.

On May 18, company officials held a grand opening to show off the high-end residential units.

“We really like waterfront property,” said Joe O’Brien, west coast managing partner for Patten Real Estate. “When this one came on our radar we were very interested. We liked the uniqueness of the property and saw that there was a lot of potential here.”

O’Brien said the quality of the building and the property’s expansive shoreline frontage were large draws for the company. “The first building was already nearly done,” he said. “The second had around 30 percent of the work completed. It was all framed out and had the siding on it, but it was just sitting here flapping in the wind. So we had to fill out the inside.”

The company called in the project’s original contractor from North Carolina, Liberty Solutions, as well as local subcontractors to maintain consistency between the two buildings throughout the project. Eight months later, they are ready for market.

“We are very happy with the work that has been done,” O’Brien said. “We’ve used all high-end materials and appliances for this project and it looks really nice.” Each unit has radiant heating and large windows to take in the views. The condominiums are situated near the now-closed Semiahmoo Resort and have an unobstructed view of Semiahmoo Bay.

“What’s really nice about this shoreline is that there’s no bank,” said sales manager Matt Rollins. “Everyone has easy access to the waterfront. It’s a great piece of property. The first developers just started them at the wrong time for real estate.”

Rollins said the quality of workmanship on the project is some of the best he has seen. “It’s one of the finest condo projects I’ve ever worked on,” he said. “The workmanship is A-1.”

Sales of the units have been steady since the purchase, despite the closure of Semiahmoo Resort last fall. “It hasn’t been too much of a deterrent,” Rollins said. “More people come here for the golf and the lifestyle than for the resort. No one has ever said that they won’t buy if the resort doesn’t open back up.” However, O’Brien and Rollins do not expect Semiahmoo Resort to remain on the market for long. “It will sell,” Rollins said, “and all indications say it will be soon.”

Rollins added that the resort’s sale would be a plus for potential buyers, because it would potentially offer them the opportunity to have a restaurant and fitness area close by.

So far, 16 of the 18 units in Building A have been sold. After the open house on Saturday, five of the Building B units had been snapped up. Units in Building B start in the low $500,000 range and average 1,600 square feet of living space.

Rollins estimated that around 75 percent of those sales were to U.S. citizens with the other 25 percent going to Canadians.

For more information about the condos, visit liveatmarin.com or call 888/996-2746.

• Units: 23
• Location: Biloxi, MS
• Transaction: TBD
• Outstanding Mortgage Balance: TBD
• Launch: May 2013
• Status: Units Available
• Site: www.gcconddeal.com