Price reduction spurred Genoa golf course sale

The sale last week of the two golf courses at Genoa Lakes marks another reset in the value of golf properties in the region.

The Lakes and Resort courses at Genoa Lakes, which have been operating in receivership, were sold by MDA Enterprises Inc., a company controlled by retired Genoa banker Mario Antoci, to a group of investors in Northern Nevada and the San Antonio area.

The $3.25 million sale price was less than the $3.5 million that Bank of America claimed Antoci owed on the courses in court filings leading to the 2012 receivership.

Ted Stoever II of Colliers International in Reno, part of the brokerage team that represented the seller, said the price had been reduced to reflect the current demand for golf properties.

“The property was over-leveraged for the current market. Given that debt-service amount, the owner had no choice but to market the property at a price that didn’t match market demand,” Stoever said. Colliers began marketing the courses in early 2012.

Stoever and Rick Casazza of the Colliers International group worked with Keith Cubba, a Las Vegas broker who’s the national director of Colliers’ golf group, to seek a new buyer.

“When the property fell into receivership, the asking price was matched to the market demand,” Stoever said.

The terms set by the seller called for an all-cash transaction — there’s not much bank financing available for golf course deals these days — and Stoever said several cash buyers stepped forward at the price set by the receiver.

Colliers fielded more than 150 inquiries about the property, he said.

Jim and Shele Pandl, co-owners of Century 21 Clark Properties in Minden and members of Genoa Lakes Golf Club, represented the buyer, Genoa Golf Group IV LLC.

Fred Gartrell of Reno is listed in state records as the manager of Genoa Golf Group IV.

In a letter to Genoa Lakes members, general manager Lou Eiguren said he will continue to oversee daily operations of the course.

Also continuing to work at Genoa Lakes will be Superintendent Dan Cordle and administrator Victoria McClure.

The transaction includes the two golf courses on approximately 586 acres, about 1,961 acre-feet of water rights, six buildings and golf course equipment, Stoever said.

Residential communities around the courses — 220 home sites at the Lakes course and 395 home sites at the Resort course — aren’t part of the sale.

Both courses opened in the mid-1990s.