Country Lifestyles

ICONIC W.T. WAGGONER RANCH MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO A HISTORIC MILESTONE AND FINALITY OF SALE WITH NEW OWNERS POSSIBLE IN 2015.

Published

9 years ago

September 17, 2015

NTFR

VERNON, TEXAS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ICONIC W.T. WAGGONER RANCH MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO A HISTORIC MILESTONE AND FINALITY OF SALE WITH NEW OWNERS POSSIBLE IN 2015.

“New Owner Likely in Existing Pool of Interest” Says Court Appointed Receiver

Vernon, Texas (September 16, 2015) — Michael Baskerville, Court appointed receiver for the W.T. Waggoner Ranch Estate, announced Wednesday that the prospective new owner of the Ranch was very likely already in the existing pool of interested qualified buyers currently completing due diligence on the mega ranch, while preparing to make their best offers.

Baskerville said he was confident that the estate’s brokers, Bernard Uechtritz and Sam Middleton, had fulfilled the job they had been asked to do. Uechtritz and Middleton were selected and unanimously approved by W.T. Waggoner Estate Shareholder directors Wharton and Willingham in 2014, and further approved and appointed by the Receiver and 46^th district court of Wilbarger County to market and sell the ranch.

“The worldwide marketing of the Ranch has been unprecedented and has resulted in a tremendous level of expressed interest, offers and in person visits from an abundance of well qualified national and international prospects that are ready, willing and able to buy and own the W.T. Waggoner Ranch,” Baskerville said. “The brokers have done a first-rate job at exposing this ranch to the world, and have left no stone unturned. We are on schedule marketing wise and as a result have recently issued an official call for offers to be presented in October in the final phase of this process.”

Middleton said, “There had been 6 to 700 inquiries since the court approved our selection last year by the shareholders to have Bernie and I market the estate internationally. That number has been filtered down to a dozen or so real contenders, but these last few have done the work, seen the ranch and are for real and ready to buy the ranch”.

Uechtritz stated “Pursuant to our listing and marketing agreement, I have recommended to the receiver that since we had reached such a fever pitch and peak of interest through our marketing, and in parallel, such a high level of legitimate expressed interest in the ranch, that we should make a call for offers as required, and Sam and Mike agreed with me, so those offers are due in October.”

Baskerville said things could move quickly on closing a deal. “From the offers received, we will negotiate final terms and conditions and proceed to petition the Court for a confirmation hearing and final acceptance of the best offer and subsequently we expect to proceed into what will essentially be a short closing period thereafter,” he said.

The winning offer when presented to the judge has to be contingent-free — meaning there are no remaining inspections needed, there are no issues with financing or money, and it can’t be subject to any remaining due diligence issues such as title reports or surveys; the estate will convey title to all assets under the power of the receivership.

“All of the due diligence and investigative things relative to moving forward with purchasing the property have been done. Qualified buyers have already been doing that or are in the last phases of doing so. They’ve had various teams of people from accountants and lawyers and due-diligence specialist teams coming in and investigating the condition of the property,” Uechtritz said in a telephone interview. “At this point, we are only dealing with the dozen or so real contenders, that are truly qualified, verifiable and whom are genuinely interested. These range from state, national and international identities.”

It is possible that the confirmation hearing could be held by the last week of October or first week of November. If that offer is acceptable to the receiver, then they will move to a contingent-free closing period which would be a 30 to 45-day period. “Hypothetically, the deal could close in December this year,” said Baskerville.

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About the W.T. Waggoner Ranch

Founded by Dan Waggoner in 1849, his son, famed cattle baron W.T. Waggoner, continued expanding the ranch to the 510,000 acres that will soon be offered to the international marketplace. Owned exclusively by the Waggoner family, this is the first time the 800-square mile estate has ever been listed for sale. The W.T. Waggoner Ranch is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. Nearly 800 square miles and about the size of Rhode Island, the ranch encompasses six North Texas counties, offering two main compounds, dozens of additional homes, 20 cowboy camps, enormous lakes, hundreds of award-winning quarter horses, thousands of heads of cattle, 1,200 oil wells, and 30,000 acres of cultivated farm land.

About Bernard Uechtritz & Sam Middleton

Bernard Uechtritz and Sam Middleton were selected by the families and shareholders of the W.T. Waggoner Ranch Estate by unanimous agreement and confirmed by the receiver and presiding judge in the decision to enter the open market internationally to sell the iconic ranch and its related assets. Sam Middleton is a third generation broker at Chas. S. Middleton & Son of Lubbock, Texas. Bernard Uechtritz is an International Real Estate Advisor for Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty in Dallas, Texas.

About Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty

Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty is the oldest privately held real estate boutique in Dallas. With six offices in Dallas, Lakewood, Uptown, Ranch and Land, The Ballpark and Southlake, and more than 250 associates, the firm specializes in significant properties, from historic to contemporary, ranch to waterfront. The company’s deep-rooted connections, cutting-edge marketing and global strategies bring the extraordinary to all clients. President and CEO Robbie Briggs independently owns and operates Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. For more information, visit

http://www.briggsfreeman.com.

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Country Lifestyles

A Mountain Out of a Molehill

Published

5 days ago

April 18, 2024

NTFR

By Nicholas Waters

As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.

Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.

These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.

The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

Country Lifestyles

When A City Girl Goes Country

Published

7 days ago

April 16, 2024

NTFR

By Annette Bridges

Everyone needs a room with a view that makes their heart happy. My honest favorite panorama would be either the mountains or the ocean. I have yet to convince my hubby to make permanent moves to either, although he does enjoy the visits as much as I do.

The location of our house on our ranch does not provide the expansive field of vision of our land that I would enjoy. So, I have created a room decorated and furnished in a way that gives me smiles, giggles, and a wonderful peace-filled feeling when I am hanging out in it. I am in that place right now writing this column. I am in a lounging position with my computer in my lap on the chaise that was once my sweet mama’s. I had it reupholstered this year to give it a fresh look.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

Country Lifestyles

On the Road with Dave Alexander

Published

1 week ago

April 13, 2024

NTFR

Local celebrity dancers of the greater Gainesville area brought the house down recently at the second annual “Dancing With Our Stars” contest in Lindsay. The event raised more than $200,000 as the sponsored dance teams did their best to take home the grand prize.

The money raised will go to the “Heart of NTMC” Campaign for the purchase of a cardiac capable CT machine for the Gainesville hospital. Rodolfo “Rudy” Martinez and Sherry Sherriden took home the Mirror Ball Trophy.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.