WAUCONDA – The eBay auction for Wauconda closed on Friday, April 2 and when the highest bidder didn’t come through with the down payment by the end of the day on Monday, April 5, the town was still for sale.
“The auction closed at $370,000 and the high bidder was an Australian who seemed very interested,” Daphne Fletcher, the co-owner of the property, said. “The Australian did not come through with the deposit so there are three other people coming to look at the place but nobody has come through with a deposit yet. We’re open to negotiating and even financing if a sizeable deposit is put down.”
Fletcher said she has been interested in selling the property for the last few years but it wasn’t until the last month and a half that she really started pushing the sale heavily again.
“I’m thinking about listing it with a real estate agent again, but I’m holding off and hoping I won’t have to give up a percentage of the sale,” she said. “If I’m not able to find a buyer, I’m thinking about leasing the café again.”
Up for sale is the Wauconda General Store, which was established in 1898, the gas station, which was brand new in 2006, the 60 seat Wauconda Café & Spaghetti Saloon, the U.S. Post Office of Wauconda, a four bedroom house, a 100-year-old homestead log cabin which has been converted to a garage/workshop and a four acre fenced-in farm with a creek, barn and outbuildings.
“I think now that the auction bidding frenzy and time limit are over, the interested parties are coming back to look at the property and books again,” Fletcher said. “I’m willing to show the books and property to anyone who is interested.”
She added that she would like to find a buyer because she doesn’t want to lease the café again.
“It’s not my forte and I’d like the new owner to decide if they want to run a restaurant or not,” Fletcher said.
She can be reached at (509) 486-1293 for more information. Also, the Web site waucondastore.com has more information as well as the history of the area and photos.