Lake Norman estate of late NFL Hall of Famer set for Auction

The opportunity to purchase a Charlotte-area home linked to a popular NBA athlete presented itself this month. And in March, the local lakefront estate of an NFL legend will be up for auction.

Charlotte-based Interluxe is heading the auction of the late NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White's home on the shores of Lake Norman. The auction is set to begin at 9 a.m. on March 12 and ends the following day at 5 p.m.

White and wife Sara designed and built the three-story luxury home in 2000. The 13,640-square-foot property has five bedrooms along with seven full bathrooms and three half bathrooms. It also houses a separate apartment.

In addition to a saltwater pool and private dock, other notable features of the one-acre property include it sitting on a double lot and having six-plus garage bays, said Stacy Kirk, director of client development for Interluxe. The home also has an elevator, dog kennel and grooming station as well as a gym with rubber flooring and a sauna.

The home was first put on the market in 2007 for $4.5 million. It was relisted in 2017 at the lower price of $4.2 million and then dropped to $3.89 million. It's currently listed for sale at $3.9 million.
Bidding will begin at $1.5 million, but the owner — in this case, Sara — has the final say on what price is accepted. A 45-day closing period follows the end of the auction.

"What I can say is that we absolutely expect it to sell," Kirk said. "We know the property will sell. The family is incredibly motivated to release this property to the next family to enjoy it as they did."

Sellers choose Interluxe because they have control over the preview schedule, sale date and terms of sale, Kirk said. Buyers can do their due diligence on a property, such as viewing inspection reports and tax records, after creating an account on Interluxe's website.
Founded in 2013, Interluxe handles the auction process and marketing aspect for luxury-home customers across the country. The company has a handful of current auction listings in North Carolina and others as far away as Montana and Colorado. 

Kirk added that the home, located in a gated community in Cornelius, is currently vacant.
"Her children are grown and gone; she's an empty nester," Kirk said. "She doesn't need a home of this magnitude."

White's highly awarded NFL career spanned 15 seasons. He played defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers throughout the 1980s and 90s before spending his last season in 2000 with the Carolina Panthers. The White family remained in the Charlotte area after his retirement.

Nicknamed the "Minister of Defense," White was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. At age 43, White passed away unexpectedly in 2004 from a cardiac condition. Sleep apnea is believed to have been a factor.

A portion of proceeds from the home's sale is slated for the Reggie White Sleep Disorders Research and Education Foundation to then be awarded to charities that provide life-saving dental appliance technology to those affected by sleep apnea. Sara co-founded the nonprofit to help provide people with sleep disorders access to treatment.