Have you fallen in love with the charming resort town of Fairhope and dream of retiring here?

Would you like to live in a contemporary mansion on private acreage while being convenient to the activities and services in Fairhope and Daphne?

And what if you would like to run a business from that home for extra income and have all the tax benefits that come with a home-based business?

Or perhaps you'd be interested in owning this wonderful property and inn, but letting the current owners stay on as caretakers and innkeepers.

 This property may be just right for you.

Located in the upscale Montrose Historic District of Fairhope, Montrose Hideaway Bed-and-Breakfast Retreat offers peace and tranquility, for the owners as well as for inn visitors. There is truly no other property like it in the area, and definitely not in Montrose.

The real estate is prime, having gained significantly in value in the four years the McNairs have owned it. Plus, the McNairs have done a lot of upgrades to the property, making it even more valuable.

Although the McNairs are putting the property on the market with a willingness to sell it as real estate only, it is their hope that the buyers will want to build on their hard work and keep the bed-and-breakfast in operation, as the growth potential for the business is strong. However, if buyers are only interested in the real estate, an offer will be considered under the conditions described below.

It should be understood that this is not a property for anyone planning to have a bed-and-breakfast inn as a sole source of income. The buyer will need to afford the real estate through other means. However, if you know you can afford the house and would also like to run the inn, you will be able to enjoy the tax benefits of a home-based business while also being able to meet wonderful people from all over the world as you welcome them into your home. The revenue from the inn can cover, or at least significantly help to cover, day-to-day expenses related to the house (utilities, insurance, maintenance) and offers the ability to write off a majority of those expenses as business expenses. Plus, it can be an excellent opportunity for a buyer with capital gains income that needs to be reinvested in order to avoid excessive capital gains taxes.

If buying the business, you will be able to benefit from the McNairs hard work in building a positive reputation for the Montrose Hideaway brand. This includes a website that shows strong on Internet search results, which has taken years of hard work to accomplish.

The membership in Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America, is also a huge benefit. The program has stringent requirements for membership that must be met, and the McNairs have worked hard to earn and maintain the high quality required. In fact, as one of only two Select Registry member inns in all of Alabama, Montrose Hideaway is automatically set apart from the other inns in the Gulf Coast region. (Becoming a member of Select Registry was a very expensive investment, so you don't want to have to start the process from scratch!)

Because it would make no sense to buy this property to start a new inn under a new name, the McNairs are requiring purchasing business assets as described below for an inn to be in operation within the next five years of closing of the sale. You will spend a lot less compensating the McNairs for laying the groundwork than trying to start something new. (Take a look at the list below to see what all you can gain from a business purchase.) The price for the business assets will be negotiated separately.

Real estate only - $1,655,000 (Down from $1,800,000)

Offers for real estate only will be accepted only with a seller's condition of no bed-and-breakfast, under the same or a different name, being operated from this property for at least five years from closing, with such condition extended to future buyers of the property within that five years. Those interested in having a B&B on this property within the five years after closing must negotiate a minimum right-to-operate fee with the McNairs, or offer more to gain the benefits describe in more detail below.

Prospective buyers and Realtors should contact Mary McNair, co-owner and listing agent through Cortright & Co. in Fairhope. She can be reached at the inn (251-625-4868), on her cell (251-295-5267) or at the real estate office (251-928-5141), or by e-mail using the form on the "Contact Us" page on this site. (Attention real estate agents: The business or items purchased separately will not be commissionable and must be negotiated directly with the McNairs.)

Are you looking to buy a house in the area, but not necessarily this one? Because Mary is a Realtor, she can assist you with your search on any properties in Alabama, but her emphasis is on Mobile Bay's Eastern Shore area (Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope and Point Clear). For more information on how she can help you, visit http://fairhope-daphne-real-estate.intuitwebsites.com/.

Add the business

In addition to the real estate, business assets are available, which will be negotiated separately. The following are among the items that could be included in a business negotiation:

• The majority of furnishings and decor available for purchase, with only non-essential personal property being removed by the McNairs and any items the buyers request be removed.
• All prepaid memberships in Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America, and Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.
• All prepaid Internet advertising (bedandbreakfast.com, bbonline.com, bnbfinder.com, for example.)
• Doing-business-as (DBA) name of Montrose Hideaway Bed-and-Breakfast Retreat. (You will need a different business name under which this is purchased.)
• Website domain www.montrosehideaway.com and software for maintaining the site. (Training will be available for use of the simple software.)
• RezOvation GT reservation software and all prepaid dues, which includes a database of all past customers.
• Advanced booking revenues less an agreed percentage to seller for providing booking and credit card processing services, as well as assistance in the transition for accepting credit cards once a new business checking account has been established. (To be separately settled and paid by the seller to the buyer within no less than 30 days after closing.)
• Baldwin County zoning (R-2a) that allows the property to be used as a single-family residence and for the operation of a bed-and-breakfast. (This zoning classification was established at our request, so we are the only property in the county with this zoning designation.)
• Assistance in making licensing applications for appropriate business licenses, as well as to collect and remit lodging and sales tax.

A packet of information related to the business can be provided after a confidentiality agreement as been signed.

Interested buyers should contact Mary McNair directly by phone or e-mail. Click here for contact details. If contacting by phone, please call between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., or between 7 and 9 p.m. If you get the answering machine, please leave a message regarding your interest. Scheduled tours are available by request. Better yet, come stay a night or two with us and get a feel for what we do to see if running this inn is for you.