Interest in Remote Drug Ranch Dips

Real estate analysts and brokers predicted Monday that when the remote, 213-acre Rancho del Rio goes up for sale this week, county officials may find the response a little less than overwhelming.

“Our interest has waned considerably,” said Mike Cooper, a real estate agent for Knowles-Avery Land Co. “There’s just so much property on the market right now that’s closer in.”

Pat Ormsbee, an investment broker with Grubb & Ellis in Newport Beach, agreed. “Frankly, the clients that I was working with have decided that it’s not the thing for them,” he said. “It’s just going to be virtually impossible to develop out there.”

Those comments were widely echoed Monday by real estate brokers and developers who had once expressed interest in buying the ranch, which was seized by drug agents in 1985 and is expected to go on the market Wednesday. In fact, none of the brokers contacted Monday said they expected to be submitting bids.

“I would not be in a position to bid on it myself,” said Gary Gornnert, a Newport Beach broker and one of those on the county’s list of people to contact when the property became available. “And I have no client right now who has an interest in that piece of ground.”

Still, some experts predicted that while developers may not line up to buy the ranch, other prospects looking for a large, remote parcel could emerge and push the price up.

As a real estate investment, the ranch has its drawbacks: It has no running water, no electricity and no sewer hookups. Located east of Mission Viejo on the Orange-Riverside County line, it is miles from the nearest housing development, and officials say it will be years before other projects reach that far east.

But it’s also 213 acres of undeveloped Orange County land, and that’s enough to cause some real estate analysts to take notice. The land could make an elegant hideaway for a wealthy private buyer or a smart, long-term investment for someone willing to wait for the surrounding development to catch up, brokers said.

The question is whether anyone will agree to pay at least $1.54 million--the county’s asking price--for the celebrated ranch, once the home of an international drug-smuggling operation.

Despite the tepid response, county officials are hoping for an enthusiastic turnout Wednesday: About 75 bid packages have been sent out, and officials in the county real estate office say they expect the bidding session to produce some takers.

And even if the bidding fizzles, there will be at least one willing buyer in the audience. The county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Service Area will pay the $1.54 million if no other bidder steps forward. No bids of less than $1.54 million will be considered.

However, last month, the U.S. attorney for California’s Central District warned the county against going ahead with its plans for selling the property and letting a county agency submit a bid. In an attempt to satisfy the U.S. attorney, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution clarifying its intentions and pledging to give the federal government final approval of the sale.