Home under the hammer
10:14, 02 December 2011
A care home which was forced to close when its owner fell victim to a internet scam is for sale.
Jeanette Lodge in Park Avenue, Gillingham, shut earlier this year when Richard Raj was conned out of £67,000.
He believed he had won 3.1m euros in a foreign lottery and was told he would receive the cash if he paid the tax by transferring cash from his account.
When the winnings never arrived, Mr Raj’s company Golden Slumbers, which ran Jeanette Lodge and Rosedene Residential Care Home in Margate, went into administration.
The 12 elderly residents of Jeanette Lodge were forced to move out in August and were offered help from Medway Council’s adult social care team. A council spokesman said all 12 have now been rehomed.
Jeannette Lodge will be sold at auction at 11am on Monday, December 12. It is among 76 lots going under the hammer at a Clive Emson sale. It has a guide price of £350,000 to £360,000.
Auctioneer John Stockey said: “We anticipate some keen interest. This is a substantial property, originally constructed as a pair of substantial semi-detached houses but, for many years, converted to provide a single property. The building is in a very good residential location opposite Gillingham Park and it is considered there is potential for a variety of uses.
“They include a substantial single residence or division to provide a pair of semi-detached houses each, probably, with five bedrooms, subject to all the necessary consents.”
uE06E The auction takes place at Kent County Showground, Detling. For details phone 0845 6036614 or visit www.cliveemson.co.uk