Having checked out the Motel, we were pretty anxious to get the show on the road.
The Sea Spray Motel consists of 11 structures, with 9 individual 1 bedroom cabins, and one duplex, as well as an owners residence/office. The property is 1.2 acres in size, and is on the corner of the main road through Grayland and the main beach access there, which is utterly perfect! Online, the motel is posted as having ocean frontage as well, though that clearly was not the case upon arriving, as there was roughly 4 blocks to the beach, and in between there were plots of land for sale, but it was still in a great spot for a motel.
Naturally, the manager was being incredibly difficult. He would only allow us to look in certain cabins, and Mabel was reluctant to push him, so we reluctantly agreed to look at the ones allowed and the office/residence. It was pretty apparent from the start that the motel had once been cared for. The cabins were cute, and had a lot of character, and were decorated pretty whimsically from the outside. Unfortunately, as we started looking around inside, it became clear that at one time, the owners had started decorating and painting it, and as the owner became ill and the manager took over, that stopped, and things were left either poorly painted, half finished, or just made up enough to get by.
Colors were all over the place, ugly hotel bedspreads mixed with clashing sofas and paintings...
"vintage" appliances and tile right out of a 50's nuclear disaster readiness film...
and where they had attempted to add some decor, it was badly waterstained posters and glued together puzzles, hung without regards to the other things in the room.
The walls were amazing too, odd colors, often painted over old paneling, and poorly patched with colors roughly matching...Clearly, this should have been a clear sign that the Sea Spray Motel was an R.O.U.S. - then again, we'd essentially ignored the previous Rodents Of Unusual Size associated with the venture, the inefficient Realtor, the utterly unprepared and clueless owners, the surly and uncooperative manager, and like those, we ignored this stuff, after all it was all cosmetic, and could be easily fixed with some elbow grease and LOTS of paint. We still really liked the Sea Spray! It had a lot of character, and a lot of potential!
Then we toured the grounds and office.......
2 comments:
I also think it has a lot of potential. Yes I think it is going to take some work to make it a top destination. But, I think you can totally do it. Good luck!!!!!!
Due diligence - when I worked at MDU and we bought properties that had turned a profit immediately, we performed what was called a due diligence process. This included having a certified public accountant reviewing the books. This will tell you what the income will be and what the owners can expect to live on plus re-invest into the business. Also, look at the economic conditions of the immeidiate area. With the U.S. in a Recession/Depression, travelers and vacationeers are going to be looking at resorts close to home. Your blog is one of the most interesting that I'm following but I certainly urge you to be very cautious and don't leave a stone unturned. Your trip to see and inspect the property is certainly a part of the due diligence process. Also, don't forget this piece of advice, "motels" are like street lamps...there's one on every street corner. Okay, that's a paraphrase, but still there's lots to choose from...no need to end your search. If you don't like Ocean Spray Bungalows, expand your view!
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