4 Robinwood Drive in Little Rock.
Did you know a change of ownership is visiting two of the three Cantrell Road houses owned by the late Jennings Osborne?
John Johnson, an oilfield engineer, recently signed a lease-option to acquire the big house for $220,000.
In a deal brokered by Little Rock’s Rental Realty, Johnson will maintain the property and pay for its upkeep (insurance, utilities, property taxes, etc.) until he buys the 11,700-SF residence in February 2017.
Johnson can’t close on the purchase sooner because of restrictions imposed on its current owner: the city of Redfield.
The property was given to Redfield as a gift in December 2013 by S&K Arkansas Properties LLC, led by Kourosh Malek.
The gift came with strings, however. Redfield couldn’t sell the house for less than 90 percent of its appraised value until 36 months had passed.
The 1.82-acre spread carries an appraised value of $671,950 on the Pulaski County tax rolls. The market says the house, which has endured vandalism that included stolen copper and more, is worth a fraction of that.
You might recall that Malek bought the house for $292,000 at auction in August 2012. The auction of assets was prompted by the Osborne family’s financial travails, which spilled into public view after the death of Jennings Osborne in July 2011.
The walled residence that once appraised at more than $1.5 million bears a 4 Robinwood Drive address despite its Cantrell Road location. The unusual Robinwood designation is shared by the houses on either side of it.
Companion Property
The 5,341-SF house at 3 Robinwood Drive is under new ownership after a recent $253,999 sale. The John & Deana McCormack Trust bought the property from Freddie Mac.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. entered the ownership picture back in January in the wake of a $304,000 foreclosure sale, delayed by the bankruptcy of Mitzi Osborne. She and her husband, Jennings, acquired the property in 1993.
That $259,000 purchase was made in part to placate neighbor angst concerning the Osborne family’s over-the-top Christmas lights display.
The property also provided expansion room for their kilowatt-fueled holiday extravaganza.
The same variables were in play for the 5,174-SF house at 5 Robinwood Drive. That property remains the subject of courtroom contention.
Ralph Duda III and Ryan Wessels are pressing their high-bidder claim on the property, stemming from a June 2012 auction gone awry.
They were unable to close on their would-be $214,500 deal, apparently thwarted by Cenlar Federal Savings Bank of Trenton, New Jersey. Cenlar, which holds the first mortgage on the property, wouldn’t sign off on the sale.
The thrift is a named defendant along with Little Rock’s Metropolitan National Bank, which held a second mortgage on the property; Blackmon Auctions Inc., which conducted the auction; and Mitzi Osborne, who still holds title to the house for now.
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