U.S. Marshals Seize 695-Acre Texas Hill Country Ranch

October 29, 2008 by Grant Gannon

A few years ago I started noticing all the classifieds that were advertising vehicles for sale. They had been seized by one branch or another of the federal government. Most of the time drugs were involved. Then, thanks to the mortgage meltdown, county sheriffs got busy selling foreclosed homes on the courthouse steps. But close to 700 acres in the Texas Hill Country on the block courtesy of the U.S. Marshals? Here’s the scoop.

The Dixie Diamond Ranch sits on 695 acres of rolling Hill Country terrain just outside Bandera and about an hour’s drive from San Antonio. In addition to a four-bedroom, four-bath main house, it has a five-bedroom foreman’s residence, an eight-stall horse barn, and several other structures, including a huge warehouse. Five wells, several springs and ponds, and a small lake are interspersed with Spanish oak, native cherry, and pecan trees. Most of the cedar has been cleared off.

Floyd Seibert used to own the Dixie Diamond, but according to the San Antonio Express-News, Mr. Seibert is off for an extended stay at Club Fed, doing time for Medicare fraud as well as embezzling the medical plans and pension funds of his former employees. Old Floyd didn’t just get caught. He got caught using the Dixie Diamond to store records from his businesses. Now Uncle Sam and the U.S. Marshal Service are running the ranch. They’ve decided to put it on the market for $4.8 million ($7,000 per acre not including improvements) and use the proceeds to reimburse those poor unfortunate souls who Seibert bilked to the tune of $3.28 million almost 10 years ago.

Babo Teich has the listing. Guess what? Not a lot of wiggle room on this one. According to the terms, the Dixie Diamond is sold “As Is.” And don’t be fooled by the Wall Street bailout. Owner financing is not an option. This deal is all cash. Last but not least, the “US Marshals Service does not pay for Title Policy or Title Insurance.”

Wait a minute. Everything is negotiable, isn’t it?

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