More than 1,500 acres of land in North Jacksonville will be sold at auction by court order in three weeks because the borrower defaulted on the $7 million mortgage on the property.
Circuit Judge Tyrie Boyer signed a final summary judgment of foreclosure Aug. 14 in favor of Farm Credit of Florida ACA.
The defendants are SS Investment Group LLC, Shea Investment Group Inc., Stokes Land Group LLLP and SLG Braren LLC.
John Kunkel, listed in documents filed with the court as vice president of SS Investment Group, president of SLG Braren and the agent for Stokes Land Group, did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the summary judgment, in December 2007, SS Investment borrowed $7 million from North Florida ACA, which later merged with Farm Credit.
The mortgage was for the purchase of 14 parcels comprising 1,550 acres of timberland along Old Kings Road.
The defendants failed to meet the terms of the mortgage and in May 2016, Farm Credit determined the loan was “distressed” and notified the defendants of their right to request restructuring the loan.
The defendants submitted a restructuring application that was denied by Farm Credit in August 2016, based on the ground that the borrower’s assets were below lending standards.
“The Borrower’s proposed plan is not a plan of restructure. It is a deferred plan of liquidation and is not designed to help the Borrower continue the farming operation and not designed to help the Borrower maintain the lending relationship with the Lender,” the denial states.
On May 16, 2017, attorney Ryan Mittauer with Lyles Gavin PA filed the complaint on behalf of Farm Credit seeking judgment for damages including the unpaid loan principal, interest, late fees, attorney’s fees and costs, shown as of Aug. 14 at $7,049,669.43 in the summary judgment.
The clerk of the circuit court scheduled the public foreclosure sale at 11 a.m. Oct. 17 at duval.realforeclosure.com when the property will be sold to the highest bidder.