By Brian Anderson
San Ramon Valley Times

Oct. 17, 1999

TASSAJARA VALLEY — Tucked in a ripple of sandstone hills in the shadow of Mount Diablo sprawls an expansive example of affluent living.

Where the outside world grinds to a halt at the end of Finley Road, a narrow strip of asphalt picks up, passes through two security gates and runs up to the jewel in the crown of the Seven M Ranch.

Vines of grapes for both table and bottle bask in vineyards below a 5,000-square-foot home that's complete with a parking place — for a family helicopter. There are sweeping views from crystal clear pools, a professional kitchen and fireplaces up and down.

And come Oct. 26, the house that packaged fruit built will be sold in a process associated more with cattle and coveralls than caviar and cash.

The 9-year-old house of Melody and Mark Mariani, heir to the Mariani Packing Co. in San Jose, is on the block. In little more than a week, a handful of people will gather around a fast-talking pitch man repeating bids for the 252-acre Seven M Ranch in Tassajara Valley.

"We have an auctioneer who gets up and says 'What am I bid?'" said William Bone, president of The National Auction Group, which is handling the sale. "When finally nobody says they'll pay any more, the gavel falls and the property sells."

On the table is a rugged parcel — likely unknown to most in the area — holding two houses, a 27-stall horse barn and a chapel with stained-glass windows. The main house is an airy ranch design with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and several fireplaces. Crown molding, Italian tile and brass fixtures help the down-to-earth home convey the aged feel the Marianis hoped for when they had it built in 1992, said Faye Cravens, who is showing the property prior to auction.

The kitchen — which also has a fireplace — features professional accouterments such as a Sub Zero refrigerator, Wolf stove and marble-top island.

Of particular interest are the three Murphy beds stuffed into the walls of a huge sun room. The entire family, Cravens said, has held pajama parties in the room, which looks out at Mount Diablo State Park.

"The view was one of the things they wanted to encompass," Cravens said.

That's obvious in the full-circle veranda that maintains the soft sage color found throughout the house.

Next to the heli-pad is an oversized pool complete with three cabanas,fireplace and another kitchen with a trash compactor, gas grill and stove, refrigerator and dishwasher.

The three-bedroom guest house has another pool, but it's smaller than the main one. And that wasn't on the tour because Mariani's mother-in-law is still there.

If the couple hundred acres of largely undeveloped land becomes a bore, 35,000 acres of state protected land await at an adjacent property — Mount Diablo State Park.

All this and more, as game show hosts say, can be yours for a price.

The ranch, also known as Mount Rancho Diablo, is one of about 70 homes nationwide to be auctioned this year through Bone's Alabama-based business.

The world of auctions is moving toward luxury homes. The well-to-do, in turn, are increasingly embracing auctions to unload pricey properties faster than the year or two it can take for a real estate agent, Bone said.

In 1997, former Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen used Bone's group to sell his 10,000-acre spread. Country music crooner Kenny Rogers is next month auctioning off his 20-room mansion that sits on 360 acres in Athens, Ga.

The Marianis became interested after spending $1.9 million in August fora 689-acre ranch at the foot of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County. They hope the winning bid on Seven M Ranch will be between $5 million and $7 million, Cravens said.

But with every auction there is the risk of not getting all the buck from the bang. The Mariani auction is no different, Bone said, pointing to one seemingly serious buyer out of a dozen or so prospects who have come through so far.

"You always have a little anxiety before the auction," he said. "You usually will get the value of the property or better. But it will sell regardless."

The Marianis didn't return calls for comment.

Dave Glubetich, a real estate agent with RE/MAX in Danville, said the last home auction he knew about in this area was about two years ago. Most of the homes in the multi-million-dollar price range, he said, sell the old fashioned way.

Twenty area houses worth more than $2 million have gone on the market in the last year. Eleven have sold for $2,375,000 to $3,620,000. None were auctioned.

"I think its a good way to sell the property," Glubetich said. "It would take an unusual property to do this and (the Seven M Ranch) is certainly a unique property."