BATTLE MOUNTAIN - No bids were received by Oct. 24 on the house at 480 W. Tule St. that was built by Battle Mountain High School students. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house is currently for sale for $147,000, Superintendent Jim Squibb said.
The house is 1,300 square feet and both of the bathrooms have tile showers and tile flooring. The house has vinyl flooring in the kitchen.
The furnace has a 90 percent efficiency rating and there is an on-demand hot water heater. The house also has a two-car garage.
Squibb and school board members are hoping people will come forward and look at the house.
"We encourage people to come by and take a look at it," Squibb said. "It is very competitively priced for the existing market."
School board Chair Susan Davis added, "We feel the price of the house is very marketable. The floor plan is very inviting and open and there is a very large lot that is associated with this house that can be landscaped in any number of ways and we encourage individuals who are interested to contact the district office or local real estate agents to take a tour."
School board member Jan Morrison said she loves the open floor plan and described the house as charming.
"With the master bedroom suite at one end of the house, and two bedrooms at the opposite, there is plenty of elbow room for a family or guests," Morrison said. "The two-car garage is a plus, as is the oversize lot. It will be a great home to celebrate the holidays."
School board Clerk Anna Penola said, "The school district house is beautiful and is in a great location. It will be a great home for someone looking for a new home at a great price."
The sale process is currently in the round two phase in which sealed bids can be submitted but must meet or exceed the listed price per Nevada Revised Statutes. Oral bids will be accepted per Nevada Revised Statutes as well the night that the sealed bids are opened.
If the house does not sell during this phase, it will go out to bid for a third time at which point Lander County School Board members can determine a price lower than the listed price, Davis explained. Sealed and oral bids will be accepted.
For round two, bid packets can be picked up at the district office and are due back by 4 p.m. on Nov. 28. They will be opened at the school board meeting that night. They can also be picked up from local realtors.
Anyone who has any questions or who would like a tour can call the district office at (775) 635-2886 or contact any local realtor.
The first appraisal came in at $154,000 and was done by Drake Appraisal, out of Elko. The second appraisal was done by Greg Greenhaw, out of Elko, and came in at $147,000. School board members chose to go with the lower appraisal price as the minimum bid price.
Three students from Battle Mountain High School's Building Trades program were hired this summer to put the finishing touches on the house.
They were working under the instruction of former Building Trades Instructor Scott Malone. They finished their work in mid-September.
The school district has contracted with Clark Construction to put the last finishing touches on the house including back and side fencing, Squibb said.
Students in the Building Trades program spent two years building the house. An open house was held on June 6.
The students worked on the house five hours a day, four days a week in their respective classes.
While the students were building the house, Malone taught the students everything they needed to know to build a home. The builders ranged all the way from freshmen to seniors.
Malone brought the program to the school six years ago. He had to get it approved by the school board, he said. The first year, the students worked on five sheds and individual projects to get them experienced enough to work on an actual house the following year, Malone said.
One house is usually built per year but for the current house, last year was the second year the students were working on it. Malone said he slowed the construction down to improve the amount of time for instruction.
This was the fourth home to be built. Construction of it was started in October 2010.
The 2011-12 school year was Malone's last year of teaching at Battle Mountain High School. The housing program is currently on hold, Squibb said.
That void is being filled by furniture and cabinetry classes taught by new hire, Craig Smith. Computer aided drafting classes may be offered during the next semester.
The school is going to focus on smaller projects and helping the students to build up their skills to hopefully start the housing program again in the future, Squibb said.
Newmont Mining Corp. donated three plots on Tule Street and $200,000 to get the program started. There were also grants obtained for the program.
The program had become self-sustaining because money made from selling the houses went into building the following year's house, Malone said.
The next house will be on the third plot donated by Newmont. Newmont is supportive of the kids sharpening their skills in order to begin on the third Newmont house possibly in the fall of 2013, said Davis.
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