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Overgrown with weeds, the entrance barricaded, Vincent Overlook on Cave Neck Road near Milton is a dream not realized.
Scheduled for Sussex County sheriff’s sale in November, the developers - Vincent Property LLC and Raymond Yancey, trustee - owe more than $12.7 million, and AmTrust Bank has foreclosed.
AmTrust, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, has offices throughout that state as well as Florida and Arizona.
If the sale is held, Lynn Kleb, who coordinates sheriff’s sales for the county, said it would be among the largest in county history and one of a small but growing trend. Kleb said until this year, a development of any size had never gone to sheriff’s sale. This year, at least four have been foreclosed on so far. In August, Bethany Marina Townhomes was foreclosed for a $4 million debt.
The Vincent Overlook sale was originally scheduled for Sept. 16 and is rescheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18. Nearly all properties that end up at sheriff’s sales are purchased by the banks or companies holding the mortgages and then resold.
Selling a house in today’s market is one thing, but selling an entire development is another.
It was one year almost to the day, Oct. 13-14, 2007, that the Maryland-based developers scheduled a grand opening weekend for the 89-acre development. Nearly 250 units were planned for the spacious development rimmed with rolling hills for buffers.
So what happened over the past year that sent the development into financial ruin? No one is talking.
Telephone calls to the attorney listed on the sheriff’s sale were not returned; the phone at the developer’s office has been disconnected.
The obvious answer would be an economy on life support, yet many other developments are surviving. In the same area, Nassau Grove on Route 1 has expanded with many new homes over the past year. Ground has been broken for The Vineyards at Nassau Valley, and homes are under construction at Villages at Red Mill Pond. On the same road, infrastructure is in place for Windstone.
Vincent Overlook received final county approval Sept. 22, 2005. Work progressed with land preparation and infrastructure; model homes and a clubhouse were built. Because it was approved as a residential planned community, traditional five-year sunset rules do not apply, said Shane Abbott, assistant director of county planning and zoning.
Under county sunset rules, if no work is done within a five-year period, the project must come back through the county review process.
“But that doesn’t mean that the director could not sunset the project based on lack of work,” he said.
County officials did not know if lots had been sold in the development.
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