The Villa Bay Motel

Every so often we get these unique gems that we get to work with in real estate. A good bunch of my auction properties are diamonds in the rough. Properties with potential. Properties with stories. Properties with history. Properties pregnant with opportunity.

The Villa Bay Motel is one of those properties. It's located in the heart of the Texas Coastal Bend, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Aransas Pass is located right in between Rockport, Port Aransas, Portland, & Ingleside.

The Coastal Bend is known for many things: fishing, refineries, vacationing, the beach...& SO...for properties like the Villa Bay Motel, it attracts a variety of customers. You may see contract workers, working on one of the projects in the gulf, a refinery worker, or any other industrial type worker that is looking for a place that offers weekly rates. You may also find fishermen and women, needing a place to lay their head before heading out the next morning. You may also meet some locals that have visitors coming in, that need a place to stay, tourists visiting the beach or attending one of the many festivals in the coastal bend, or someone just needing a shower from spending all day at the beach.

It is amazing how the Coastal Bend has bounced back from Hurricane Harvey. You can see the opportunity and potential as you make the drive.

One thing about The Villa Bay Motel, is it stood strong when many things around it did not. Hurricane Harvey was not it's first rodeo. In fact, it was even able to house some that were distraught and homeless from the aftermath.

There is something special about a property that has survived and thrived in hard times. If those walls could talk... they would have quite the story to tell.

This property is up for auction. The auction closes Thursday, June 18th at 6 PM. Here is the link to the auction.  Here is a link to the Terms & Conditions. 

Here is a link on how to log in: CLICK HERE!

Here is a link with all of the details. LINK TO DETAILS Be sure to click the "Documents" tab under the picture of the hotel. You will find everything from a survey to the property condition statement to the number of rooms & MORE.

Link to Loopnet Listing HERE!

Buck Up & Bid! BId! BID! This property has the potential to become your retirement investment, the boutique hotel you've always wanted, your opportunity at coastal living with income potential, OR anything else you want it to be.

We will be at the property tomorrow, if you would like to preview it, talk with us, or get additional information. You can also call or text me at: 979.421.0325 or email me at heather@buckupauctions.com.

Heather Schoenst Kaspar
Auctioneer TXL 17037, BAS, CAI
Realtor, GRI, SRES
Buck Up Auctions & Realty
My Real Estate Expert, LLC.
heather@buckupauctions.com
Call/Text 979.421.0325

ALL

What a BLESSED, wonderful morning! God is good!

Today, I want to share with everyone MY WORD for the year. I have tried finding my "Word for the Year" in the past & although I picked one, I can't recall it EVER jumping out at me, much less it sticking with me throughout the year.

This year was different. God has really placed certain things on my heart & one of those things is to really, truly work on loving myself the way HE loves me. He's been sending me reminders lovingly & so when a prompt in one of the Facebook groups I am a member of asked what our chosen "Word for the Year" was, it was so, so clear to me.

My word is ALL. What that word is to me is a reminder that God loves ALL of me. My husband & my kids love ALL of me. My friends love ALL of me. I can be so, so critical of myself & hard on myself when I don't meet the expectations I set for myself in the time I want to meet them. If I can learn to love ALL of me the way God & those closest to me do I truly believe that a peace will consume me, like nothing I have ever experienced & that peace that God blesses me with will pour onto EVERYONE around me in a way that I could never ever do on my own & what a blessed beautiful gift that will be.

Go to wordart.com to make your own image.

God is just so good. As I reflect over the last couple of months He has sent me to scripture, and articles & encouraging places to remind me that He loves the things I almost loathe about myself. He loves it, because He will use it. Those things will be connectors for Him.

Photo cred to Myers Jackson

Something God taught me this morning as I was praying is that we will have to wrestle with sin. As I'm laying in bed, but waking up, TRYING to pray intentionally, I was hit with the things I am normally hit with every morning. I'll start out with the plan of what will free my mind & as I feel like I'm getting somewhere & connecting, the devil tells me: "You really need to be thinking about this." "You really should be better at this." "If you don't do this, this will happen." "You should be doing this a certain way & you're not, so you suck." You get the picture. It took a little while, but I was determined this morning. I had and still have enough time to get my day started how I need to & it was like The Holy Trinity came in with a beaming light & cleared my mind. All the mind critters left. I even had a similar situation like I described in my last blog: "Accept the Compliment", where I wanted to retreat & God bless my Interpersonal Communications class, because I knew to let the wall down & to soak it in. Let the truth soak in, to the fact that there was absolutely NOTHING I could do to make God love me anymore than He already did in that moment.

Buck Up Baby & let's make 2019 a FANTASTIC year!! God bless!

Auctioneer Bid Calling Contests - An Explanation to the Public

The Texas Auctioneer Association State Convention is knocking on the door. What that means to me as an Auctioneer is that I have an opportunity to fellowship with Auctioneers from across the state & some visiting from other states, meet with vendors that help me improve business operations, receive continuing education in areas specific to my auction company's role in this industry, and I get to compete for the State Champion Auctioneer Title.

When I mention the competition to friends, family, and members of the public that aren't as familiar with auctions some picture each contestant coming in guns blazing ready to light the stage up. Others ask questions trying to understand why there is such a thing, and others seem like they want to ask me questions, but they don't know what to ask.

Considering that the contest is literally right around the corner I thought this would be a great opportunity to share what competing means to me & many other contestants & invite friends, family, & members of the public to join us for the Prelim round taking place on Sunday at the Hilton in College Station. Prelims are scheduled to start at 2:45, but if you are interested in coming, be sure to LIKE the Texas Auctioneer Association Facebook Page for the latest updates. You can also go to the Texas Auctioneer Association Website, where there is LOTS of interesting info about the auction industry.

Last year when I made the Top 10!

Getting back to what competing means to me. Several years ago, I attended my first convention. I had never been to one, didn't know what it was about & literally walked in like a sponge...just soaking it all in. I decided to sign up for the rookie contest & wound up placing 3rd. Stepping up and competing showed me something. I went from knowing very few people to meeting a group of people that were there doing the same thing I was...working on making ourselves better....learning things we did not know, but needed to...meeting people that could help us with the things we hadn't experienced yet....and dedicating ourselves to bettering our method of communication with others in the sale of merchandise. Not only did I meet and make friends with the other competitors, but after I stepped off that stage - there were people that didn't know me, make a point to talk to me....even if it was just to tell me how I did or shake my hand & introduce themselves. It put me out there. As a rookie, I didn't really know what that meant, but I knew it was good & I liked the way it felt.

Every single time I compete I learn something & I leave better than I came. Being judged by other Auctioneers & those in the industry that hire us, let's us know how well we are communicating with our audiences & helps us to see where we can be more effective.

First year of the Texas Lone Star Open in Fort Worth, TX. 

Let me also say, that standing on a stage in front of our peers, the best of the best in the industry, and other Auctioneers that have decades of experience is not the same for  us as when we stand in front of a crowd of buyers at a gala, car auction, cattle auction, estate auction or any other for that matter. The way I see it, we are putting ourselves in the fire BECAUSE we want to be sharpened.

As I continued to compete, it did not take me long to realize that we are REALLY competing against ourselves. Our performance has EVERYTHING to do with us & not a thing to do with the other competitors. All we can do is go out there and be our best self & take the feedback we've gotten and practice and apply it. We are mindful of things like: pitch, tone, rhythm, hand gestures, presentation, descriptions, speed & increments. Then, for the State Championship contest - we are also judged on our industry knowledge through an interview portion. 

In the Ringman competition last year, where I was a Top 3 Finalist.

If I could compare it to something mainstream, I'd compare it to The Voice. All of those singers can sing. The judges give them feedback & they apply it, but there can only be one winner at the end of the day. It doesn't mean the other's can't sing. It means that day...the winner MOVED the people the most & COMPELLED them to vote. I just think about what those judges tell those singers that run the risk of leaving the show. Something along the lines of: "Once you reach this point you are all winners. Your life will be forever changed, once you walk off this stage."

Earlier this year, I was calling a benefit auction & a lady came up to me, shook my hand & told me she had never heard or seen a female auctioneer & she complimented me on my clarity & told me she had more fun at that auction than any she'd ever been to because she could understand me and she knew what was going on. Then she said..."What you all do as Auctioneers is a dying art." I had such an appreciation for that lady.

She never enjoyed auctions before, so she rarely bought at live auctions - but that day...she bought items, lots of items & she called what I did a dying art & she enjoyed herself enough to let me know about it.

As an Auctioneer, who is around Auctioneers on a regular basis & who hires Auctioneers to help call my auctions - I can tell you all what we do is alive and well, with EXTREMELY talented male and female Auctioneers right here in our state & you have the opportunity to see some of them this Sunday.

2nd Year of the Texas Lone Star Open

At the end of the day, we care about our buyers and our sellers & we want to use the tool God blessed us with to communicate as effectively as possible. Buck Up Baby & come on out! There are lots of GREAT items up for bid, with money raised going to special projects like our scholarship fund & Scottish Rite Children's Hospital.

This past December at the U.S. Bid Calling Championship in Las Vegas
(Pregnant with our new baby!)

Photo Cred: Myers Jackson, Wes Pool, U.S. Bid Calling Championship

A Legacy of Serving, Teaching & Learning - Joyfully!

I have the honor of liquidating the estate of Mr. Joe A. Spacek in Dime Box. As many of you know, I like to share the life & times, if you will, of the individual tied to the estates we are hired to liquidate. I do this, because we all tell a story & I believe we continue to tell a story after we are gone. You know....there is something interesting & mysterious about the quiet ones.

Every family member I have talked to so far has told me that Joe A. kept to himself. That being said he has a lot of neat and interesting things to share will all of you coming to the auction on Saturday.

There will be lots of useful items at the auction on Saturday like: Several Storage Buildings, Tools, Furnishings, Cooking Kettle, Gold & Silver pieces, a couple of Firearms, S10 Pick Up, Handmade Quilts & then some.

There will also be lots of FUN, interesting & UniQue pieces like: sports memorabilia, collectible & commemorative items from Sport Greats to Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, & Princess Diana. There are also antique toys, advertising pieces, primitives, pottery crocks. I mean....the list could go on. We keep finding things!

Because of the size of Joe A.'s collection we are also planning SEVERAL online auctions. He has a TREMENDOUS coin & currency collection. We will have details and a preliminary inventory available for those interested on Saturday. He also has quite a collection of comic books & authenticated & autographed sports items, which will be held in a specialty online auction. Be sure to join our mailing list to get updated about ALL of those.

When we start working on estates, we very quickly get to see an insight into the lives of the individuals that have left us. You notice how they organized things. You notice what was important to them and what wasn't. You learn about that person in a way, well...you never would just having a conversation with them.

There is no question that this man was a collector & took GREAT PRIDE in the treasures that he found and the things that brought him JOY. It was like he had this foresight into the value of these items. 

I think it's important to share the back story on Mr. Joe A, because I think it is wonderful. 

Joe A. was an only child & has been described as: "a devoted son that took great care of his mother in her final years" and "a generous man, always willing to give to church fund raisers and community functions, as well as showing his gratitude to those caregivers in his last couple years of life." 

One of the small buildings we are selling was built for his mother. He built it so she could sit outside on the "porch." Her failing eyesight made it hard for her to see, so he built it so...no matter what the weather was, she could sit outside & the natural light helped her vision. 

His mother was a teacher, teaching a total of 33 years at the Birdsong Community in Burleson County, The Friendship Community in Lee County, New Dime Box,  Dime Box & Lexington Schools. She predominantly focused in mathematics. This makes it no surprise that Joe A. received a degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas & taught at 3 different universities. 

We will also have several other unique items at the sale on Saturday. They belonged to Joe A.'s father, Mr. Joe Spacek. He was a WW1 Veteran, so there will be several pieces there from his time served. Mr. Joe also had a train car accident in his early 20's (per family members) where he lost his leg. They said it never stopped him & after being a battery operator for some years, started his 44 year-long career at the First State Bank in Dime Box. I've been told that Mr. Joe took quite an interest in coin collecting & I believe he passed that interest on to Joe A.  You will see unique items on Saturday that reflect these interests & events. Oh! And his dad was a Square Dance Caller! 

Similar to his parents, after retiring from teaching, Joe A. worked in Austin for the Data Processing Division of the Texas Highway Department, until he reached time for his SECOND retirement! BEFORE teaching he also worked at aerospace companies. We have items reflecting those times of his life, as well. 

Maybe some of the most heartwarming bits of information I've received as we've been setting up for this auction is regarding how close they were as a family. They were avid UT & Dallas Cowboy Fans. They enjoyed watching sports programs together & took an annual family vacation out of state every year that they all looked forward to. They were a unit, yet each one having their own individual strengths, interests, & stories that contributed to that unit. A unit that created a legacy of serving, teaching, enjoying life & getting things done!

What a blessing they must have been to the community of Dime Box!

As I sit here and think about how Joe A. "kept to himself," I think that more of us should probably BUCK UP & keep to ourselves. :) Work hard. Educate ourselves & others. Spend time with the people and things that bring us joy....& keep to ourselves, those we love, and those we can help. 

There is something quite special in this story. 

I ENCOURAGE all of you to come out on Saturday! We will have concessions available from the Dime Box Lions Club. We will also have additional information about the online auctions coming up & the real estate that will be for sale, which is also part of this estate!

Please go to our website at www.buckupauctions.com & subscribe to be added to our email list!

Heather Kaspar
Buck Up Auctions
TXL 17037

Loving Hard & Working Hard

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Mrs. Ona Van Dorn. She is the client associated with the Estate Liquidation we are holding in George West, TX. When given the opportunity, I LOVE to tell the stories of the people associated with our estates.

Liquidating estates is like sharing someone's personal collection of LOVED things with anyone who can & WILL appreciate them.

I have to say that it is MY HONOR to share in the story of Mrs. Ona Van Dorn! This 96 year-old cowgirl & entrepreneur has a TREMENDOUS life. It's hard to not get emotional remembering the interview & just learning HOW MANY people that have been blessed by her life & are still being BLESSED by it!

It's one of those blogs where I will do my best to share ALL of my thoughts & feelings, but her life is JUST SO BIG....I don't think it can be captured in these words....but I'll give it my best shot.

The interview started out going back to about 1960, starting with the story of how & why they started the South Texas Trail Ride, which starts in the Corpus Christi area & ends at the AT&T Center in San Antonio coinciding with the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. At the time, her & her then-husband Big Jim Wright owned the Motts Steakhouse in Corpus Christi - which garnered diners of the likes of Roy Rodgers & Johnny Cash.

Pictured with Johnny Cash.

Sitting there at The Motts, with their friends Fay & Pete Sample they came up with the idea to have a trail ride start in Corpus & end at the San Antonio Livestock Show & Rodeo. I knew this story was going to get good when she said: "Everyone told us it was impossible." Mrs. Ona goes on to say that the Stock Show was approaching & they needed to get approval, BUT before that - had to make sure that they would have people in support of this ride & willing to work with them.  They set out and made a trip on the route they had planned to take & made stops talking to certain individuals that would serve as key players to help push this vision along. First of all, it AMAZED me that she remembered SO MANY details of, not just this part of the planning, but EVERYTHING!! What seemed to be the key shot of encouragement to keep moving forward with the trail ride is when Mr. Perry Callison said to her: "All of South Texas is my business & I think it is a good thing!" Hearing her say it, it seemed like it was just the right dose of encouragement that was needed to carry on towards the goal. Needless to say, A ride that started with a small group of around 30 or so riders grEW to where, at its peak, had 1500+ riders! She remembered all kinds of details like...recalling a goal to have 50 horse-drawn buggies on the ride for their 50th Anniversary Year & only getting 49. She chuckled about it :). I just love the tenacity...of being told it's impossible & going after it anyway...of talking to the RIGHT people to encourage & push it along...of witnessing the passion & hearing about the work put in to do it....& of the absolutely incredible life journey this ride took her & many others on. She recalled one year cooking for all the riders with water up to her knees! Back then, we aren't talking about a trail-ride with heated trailers & living compartments. We are talking...sleeping in tents, beds of pick-up trucks & on the ground, riding in whatever weather was on the trail... We have the first horse trailer camper that ever went on the ride in the auction on December 10th! Just to give you an idea of how much Mrs. Ona LOVES this ride....she has gone on the ride EVERY YEAR! The last time she rode was 8 years ago! Since then, she's ridden on the wagon :). If anyone gets the chance to visit with her about it...ask her about the year she rode sidesaddle the WHOLE way & the clothes she made for that ride! On average riders ride 35 miles a day.

Mrs. Ona in her hand-made duds - ridin' side saddle. 

Mrs. Ona in the hat!

Check out the growth of that vision!

If you think that was an awesome story...just wait!

I had also heard about her entreprenuel spirit. There is really no tellin' how many businesses Mrs. Ona has owned or have been a part of. She couldn't recall all of them & after meeting with her we've learned about more :). One theme that seemed to be pretty consistent (with a few exceptions) was restuarants & feeding people. I asked her why restaurants? Mrs. Ona looked square at me & said: "Everything I've done was done for a reason...for a purpose." Visiting with her, it became pretty clear that opportunities presented themselves to her & if there was a reason or a purpose for it...she would do it...even if the road ahead would not be easy.

Her & her second husband, Doug opened up Vans BBQ in Oakville. At the time, she was selling real estate and good at it! They had other restuarants also. Like I mentioned before, an opportunity presented itself to Mrs. Ona. Once again the odds against her were difficult. It all came down to a desperate seller needing to sell a piece of real estate, that later would turn into Vans BBQ. She shared that she was apprehensive. The local paper had just come out highlighting the hard times Oakville was headed towards & here she was...thinking about opening up a restuarant right in the middle of it. One day she had the idea to make some BBQ, take it up to the Oakville location, &....ultimately...see what happens. It was a rough start, but the people that stopped by begged them to stay open....& it has been in business ever since. That was around 1982. She didn't say this verbatim, but the way I understand it - the REASON Van's in Oakville happened was because she had a client with a need, that she could fulfill & the purpose for staying open, is because people wanted her to.

She shared a story that is just too good to not share. She told me that when she was first getting going with Vans, the people of Oakville were givin' her a hard time. It was a dry precinct & she went through all the required notices & paperwork to get the beer license for the restaurant. A member of the local church stopped by & said: "Mrs. Ona, are you sure you want to go down to the courthouse? There are two bus loads from the church headed over there to protest against you getting the beer license." Mrs. Ona said: "Yeah? I'll ride with ya!"  Needless to say, she drove separate, had to be escorted in the back door for her safety, & the judge granted the beer license to Vans because all the necessary paperwork had been filed & there was nothing against their name. Vans in Oakville was sold this year, but you can still eat at their Three Rivers location!

After this story...I asked Mrs. Ona what her "WHY" was. Why did she do all this, and go through all this? What was her drive behind the decisions she made in her lifetime? She sat up, looked at me kind of speechless & thoughtful for a moment, and said: "I guess I just love people so much I just want to do these things." Probably the best "WHY" anyone can have.

We moved into her love for horse-drawn buggies & wagons. Mrs. Ona has a collection of horse-drawn buggies, carriages, & wagons that will be up for auction on Saturday in George West, starting at 10AM. There is a gig & Mexican cart that came off the Kennedy Ranch, which will be in the auction on Saturday, along with several other items from Kennedy Ranch & Chapman Ranch. She also had the stage coach & Mrs. Kennedy's Buggy, which they gave to The Corpus Christi Museum. They were in her care from 1965-1975.

Will be in the Auction in George West on Saturday.

Mexican Buggy off of Kennedy Ranch. Will be in Auction in George West 

Will be in Auction in George West on Saturday. 

Will in in Auction in George West on Saturday.

Front buggy off of Kennedy Ranch. Authentic to period. Maintained.
Will be in Auction in George West on Sunday.

She said she started collecting these, because she had a vision for a family dude ranch & a place similar to Motts in Corpus Christi, but she can't get around like she used to & it never came to fruition.

Her horses & the Chuck Wagon & Parade Harness were filmed in the Movie: Red & Yella, Kill a Fella, just last year. She also had the opportunity to be filmed as an extra in The Alamo with John Wayne & appear at Happy Shahan's Alamo Village in Bracketville.

This story is what took me over the edge. I COULD NOT HOLD MY EMOTIONS IN. We had somehow started talking about another one of her past businesses, Chuck Wagon Caters & someone mentioned "orphans." It struck me & I asked Mrs. Ona if she could elaborate. She told me: "There were LOADS of'm!" She said that they weren't all orphans. Some of the kiddos came from very wealthy families, but were lost in a sense. Her & her husband would take them in. They moved three buildings in from North Beach to house them. She said there would be 10, 15, 20 at a time. Some would stay only on weekends. Some never left. They would help with their businesses & with the horses. She said that the MAIN rule, was they HAD to go to school. There was one boy in particular that really had a hard time. She said they worked to get him on track & he was making great progress. Then one day his daddy showed up fussing & mad at the boy & tried to drag him off the place & she ran him off. After that story, she couldn't hold back her tears either.

She joked about her brother always saying that she could turn a piece of string into gold, but as we were sitting there visiting - we both agreed that big things don't just happen. You have to WORK to make them happen. Mrs. Ona's life is a legacy of LOVING HARD & WORKING HARD. She has selflessly worked & served & given & created & lived for others & has a heck of a time doin' it!

Ona & I after the interview!

Just goes to show how we all have it in us. Buck Up Auctions & myself have teamed up with Danny Jennings with ELCO Auctions out of Odem, TX to carry out this auction for Mrs. Ona. Danny was the VERY FIRST Auctioneer that gave ME a shot, when I first got my license. He's been in my corner ever since I started this auction journey, back in 2011.

We would like to invite EVERYONE out for this 2-Day Auction Event! We will be in George West on Saturday - Auction Starts a 10AM & Oakville on Sunday Starting at 1PM. Items will be available for Preview from 3PM until dark at both locations on FRIDAY.  Go to www.buckupauctions.com for all the info. We are updating the website daily.

You can also like our Facebook Pages Here: Buck Up Auctions & ELCO Auctions

God Bless!
Heather Kaspar
Buck Up Auctions
TXL 17037