100+ Diamondhead lots up for auction and bids start at $18,000 for waterfront
Those who want a home or vacation house in Diamondhead have an opportunity to snag a building lot in the Hancock County community for as little as $4,000 or a property near the waterfront starting at $18,000.
Registration for the online auction is open at the J.P. King Auction Company website, said J. Craig King, CEO of the company based near Gadsden, Alabama.
Bidding ends at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27.
The 114 lots up for auction are owned by an investment group that bought the properties from The Peoples Bank, King said.
The land is both north and south of Interstate 10 in the golf community whose streets have Hawaiian names. Diamondhead is west of Gulfport and less than an hour’s drive to New Orleans.
To be able to bid on a waterfront lot for as low as $18,00 is tremendous, King said. The opening bid on other lots, which average about a quarter-acre, starts at $3,950.
King said the auction has 17 waterfront lots, on a canal with access to the bay. Other lots are near the community’s golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, playgrounds and community center.
Diamondhead is a city and also a community that has minimum square footage requirements for home construction, bylaws and property owner association dues of $646 a year, plus individual or family membership fees that cover golf, tennis and pickleball.
The auction is an opportunity for existing property owners in Diamondhead to buy the lot next to their home for some privacy, King said.
“Later on you can always sell it,” he said.
How the auction works
Several of the lots were combined into investor builder packages, King said, making 55 total land offerings.
Those who are interested in bidding can register online and see a map of where each property is located. Their credit card will be charged $1 to authenticate the registration on the website.
“It will carry them right through the process of bidding and buying,” he said.
Registered bidders can see the minimum bid required on each lot and the current high bid.
Diamondhead doesn’t allow property signs, so those who want to view the lots before bidding should get the location from the website map, King said.
The winning bidder when the auction closes has 24 hours to wire the money for the purchase. If the high bidder doesn’t complete the sale, their credit card will be charged a $500 cancellation fee, King said.
That is rare, he said, since most people are knowledgeable and serious.
“Don’t be in it if you’re not serious,” he said.
A 15% buyer’s premium is added to the price for the winning bid.
Why an auction?
An auction was the choice of the property owner who wants to turn over the more than 100 lots in a one-day sale, said King, who has served as president of J.P. King Auction Co. since 1986.
He is the fourth generation in his family to lead the company headquartered at Rainbow City, Alabama.
Founded in 1915, the company sells by auction commercial buildings, lots, estates, high-end homes, resorts and farms across the country.
The Diamondhead sale is conducted totally online. Those who have questions or need help navigating the website can call 800-558-5464.
