Confusion has erupted over the sale of Rockcliffe Mansion in Hannibal.
Potential buyer Jim Gillette said he still has a contract on the historic home.
But bankruptcy trustee John S. Hodge told the couple that’s been leasing it that he’d accept a purchase offer from them.
And, in an e-mail Friday to the Courier-Post, Hodge said Gillette would have to submit another bid.
A source told the newspaper about developments in the sale late Thursday, which was the deadline for Gillette to complete an inspection of the mansion and withdraw his $710,000 offer.
Hodge sent an e-mail to Ken and Lisa Marks just after 5 p.m. Thursday. The Markses have been leasing the mansion and offering tours since September.
In his e-mail, Hodge wrote he would lease Rockcliffe to the couple through December and gave an update on the bid submitted by Gillette and his wife, Robin.
“The Gillettes wanted an additional extension and I refused to grant it,” Hodge wrote. “Thus, we need to start over. If you want to buy Rockcliffe, send me the money.”
In an e-mail Friday morning to the Courier-Post, Gillette was emphatic that he and his wife had not withdrawn their contract.
“We had (asked) for additional time to complete our inspections and that was denied,” Gillette wrote. “Therefore, we sent our notification to the bankruptcy court as to our findings and expect to close on the property.”
In a second e-mail about 30 minutes later, Gillette elaborated.
“The property is a very complex home in a very bad state of repair,” Gillette wrote. “We had originally asked for a 60-day inspection period, but that was denied, so we agreed to a 30-day time period and decided to try and get it done and were not successful.”
Gillette wrote that he believed that “because of the bad experiences the (bankruptcy) court has seen with the offers prior to ours and the way they have been strung along, they were not willing to extend our inspection period.”
Gillette added that he and his wife have “requested the court make certain repairs prior to closing. At this point, we are waiting to (hear) from the court, but I have been told the trustee is out of town.”
Gillette wrote that his estimates put the restoration cost of Rockcliffe “some place between $1 million and $2.2 million” to “bring it back to the home it once was.”
Hodge later responded by e-mail to a Courier-Post interview request.
“I’m accepting bids from any party because I’m unwilling to grant the Gillettes an unconditional extension of time,” Hodge wrote. “I offered to extend the inspection time if the Gillettes agreed to make a portion of their deposit non-refundable. They refused. Thus, I refused to extend the deadline.”
Lisa Marks said she and her husband were “stunned at all these turns of events,” but declined further comment until they’d had a chance to talk with Hodge.
A judge recently approved the Gillettes’ bid. The couple, which had already made a $35,000 down payment, also is interested in buying Sawyer’s Creek. An auction for the shuttered Hannibal amusement park is Dec. 9.
Rockcliffe owner Rick Rose filed for bankruptcy in April.
In August, the Markses made an offer of $700,000 to buy the house, but missed a Sept. 30 deadline to arrange financing.
A closing date for the Gillettes’ purchase has been set for Jan. 15, 2010.
Once the sale is completed, creditors will be paid from proceeds, starting with mortgage holders.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy case against Rose would continue, with action still to be taken on two other properties in Hannibal and one in Milwaukee, Wis.
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Confusion has erupted over the sale of Rockcliffe Mansion in Hannibal.
Potential buyer Jim Gillette said he still has a contract on the historic home.
But bankruptcy trustee John S. Hodge told the couple that’s been leasing it that he’d accept a purchase offer from them.
And, in an e-mail Friday to the Courier-Post, Hodge said Gillette would have to submit another bid.
A source told the newspaper about developments in the sale late Thursday, which was the deadline for Gillette to complete an inspection of the mansion and withdraw his $710,000 offer.
Hodge sent an e-mail to Ken and Lisa Marks just after 5 p.m. Thursday. The Markses have been leasing the mansion and offering tours since September.
In his e-mail, Hodge wrote he would lease Rockcliffe to the couple through December and gave an update on the bid submitted by Gillette and his wife, Robin.
“The Gillettes wanted an additional extension and I refused to grant it,” Hodge wrote. “Thus, we need to start over. If you want to buy Rockcliffe, send me the money.”
In an e-mail Friday morning to the Courier-Post, Gillette was emphatic that he and his wife had not withdrawn their contract.
“We had (asked) for additional time to complete our inspections and that was denied,” Gillette wrote. “Therefore, we sent our notification to the bankruptcy court as to our findings and expect to close on the property.”
In a second e-mail about 30 minutes later, Gillette elaborated.
“The property is a very complex home in a very bad state of repair,” Gillette wrote. “We had originally asked for a 60-day inspection period, but that was denied, so we agreed to a 30-day time period and decided to try and get it done and were not successful.”
Gillette wrote that he believed that “because of the bad experiences the (bankruptcy) court has seen with the offers prior to ours and the way they have been strung along, they were not willing to extend our inspection period.”
Gillette added that he and his wife have “requested the court make certain repairs prior to closing. At this point, we are waiting to (hear) from the court, but I have been told the trustee is out of town.”
Gillette wrote that his estimates put the restoration cost of Rockcliffe “some place between $1 million and $2.2 million” to “bring it back to the home it once was.”
Hodge later responded by e-mail to a Courier-Post interview request.
“I’m accepting bids from any party because I’m unwilling to grant the Gillettes an unconditional extension of time,” Hodge wrote. “I offered to extend the inspection time if the Gillettes agreed to make a portion of their deposit non-refundable. They refused. Thus, I refused to extend the deadline.”
Lisa Marks said she and her husband were “stunned at all these turns of events,” but declined further comment until they’d had a chance to talk with Hodge.
A judge recently approved the Gillettes’ bid. The couple, which had already made a $35,000 down payment, also is interested in buying Sawyer’s Creek. An auction for the shuttered Hannibal amusement park is Dec. 9.
Rockcliffe owner Rick Rose filed for bankruptcy in April.
In August, the Markses made an offer of $700,000 to buy the house, but missed a Sept. 30 deadline to arrange financing.
A closing date for the Gillettes’ purchase has been set for Jan. 15, 2010.
Once the sale is completed, creditors will be paid from proceeds, starting with mortgage holders.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy case against Rose would continue, with action still to be taken on two other properties in Hannibal and one in Milwaukee, Wis.
