Behind every billionaire there is a story!

Gee, times are tough — even billionaire has trouble finding a buyer

Norm Waitt Jr., co-founder of Gateway personal computers, is selling his Montecito mansion — Belle �poque — in a sealed-bid auction instead of continuing to list it with a real-estate agent.

The house, his ex-wife’s pet project, had been listed for more than a year. He even dropped the price from $24.8 million to an eventual $19.7 million, based on his agent’s advice that “below $20 million” would attract a buyer. It didn’t.

There were a few false starts, Waitt said, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s a story that transcends price and is likely sounding familiar to many trying to sell houses right now.Selling it in an auction sounded interesting to me,” Waitt said. “It’s a different marketing approach.”

read the rest published byOrlando Sentinel here:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/homes/orl-laprop2508may25,0,5664951.story