Selling The Mansion: The 2006 Decorator's Show House #1

Of all of the tales we have from selling Indiana's highest profile mansion, this one was probably the best. There were politics and intrigue galore and moments when we simply couldn't describe what was going on around us.  A little background: The 2006 Indiana Decorator's Show House was originally scheduled to be held in the Indiana Governor's mansion on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis.  In late 2005 and early 2006 however, things went south between the Governor and the decorators for St. Margaret's Guild, the organization who ran the showhouse.  The Guild had lost their location to hold their signature event. The event that annually raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity was in jeopardy. For them, it was a gigantic problem. For us, that smelled like an opportunity but there were huge logistical issues to consider. I called the Guild and asked if they would consider having the event at the mansion. They were open so the first thing we had to do was get the directors of the Guild to the property to see if it was even feasible. Most showhomes of this type take many many months to prepare and when the decision was made to leave the Governor's mansion, there were less than 100 days to opening of the event. It would be tight. The Guild's directors were intrigued by the possibility. It had never been held at a venue like this and this property was in the middle of a highly publicized legal battle. It was a place that the general public was fascinated with. The potential for the Guild to have an incredibly successful event was ripe. The potential for us to host an event that would present this property at the highest level to prospective buyers was also there. Needless to say, we wanted it. The Guild decided they were willing to have the discussion. The next step would be to convince our client, Conseco and our boss, Mr. Big, to take the risk and let this happen. There were legal and financial risks for Conseco.  There was going to be a great time commitment for us. None the less all parties still remained open. There would need to be a meeting between our boss and the directors of St. Margaret's Guild to discuss and finalize any decision on the Show House coming the Mansion. That alone would be tricky. Of course nothing comes easy on a project like this and of course something came up before the meeting between our boss and the Guild. On a cold, snowy night in early January 2006 as I walked the property with a group of investors, my phone lit up with a message from one of the directors of St. Margaret's Guild. There was a problem. We had ourselves a saboteur who had inserted himself into the process. He was doing all he could by spreading lies and trying to blow up the Show House opportunity at the Conseco Mansion. But why and could we fix it?  More on that in our next installment of Selling The Mansion - The Decorator's Show House #2. greg cooper, top selling carmel indiana realtor real estate broker, east carmel indiana homes for sale, east carmel indiana neighborhoods