McCurdy Auction set to sell a Wichita home for the homeless

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — McCurdy Auction is preparing to sell to a house that a Wichita man willed to the Union Rescue Mission in 2018 before he died.

McCurdy will sell Amin L. Brandhorst's four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house to the highest bidder on Saturday, the Wichita Eagle reported . The house will be available for visits for one hour before the auction and will be shown to prospective buyers by appointment.

The house's value is at least $114,100, according to the Sedgwick County Appraiser's Office. But it will be sold at what's denoted as an absolute auction, which means there is no established minimum bid or reserve price.

All of the profits will be given to the Union Rescue Mission, an evangelical Christian ministry, to help the charity continue its work.

The mission serves around 300 meals daily. It has overnight emergency housing and also offers other amenities to homeless men in Wichita.

"It was very touching that someone would think of our mission" in this way, the Union Rescue Mission's CEO, Doug Nolte, said. "(He) was willing to give up his home in death to help the homeless. We're excited, and we know that the right person will get it."

Court records show Brandhorst died at 87 on March 22 while he was in hospice care. Brandhorst's friend, Curtis Smith, told the newspaper that he began contributing to the Union Rescue Mission in 1999 and continued until his death.

"He was very dedicated and kind, sincere and thoughtful and he holds a special place in my heart," said Smith, a former Union Rescue Mission chaplain who met Brandhorst in 2009.

The house, a tri-level built in 1955, has 1,520 square feet (140 square meters) of main-floor living space, a 644-square-foot (60-square-meter) walkout basement and a two-car garage, McCurdy's website said. It also contains a covered porch and has a creek out in the back.

Braden McCurdy, CEO of McCurdy Auction, said the house "does need updating throughout."

However, its location near the Towne East Square puts it "close to fine dining, shopping and highway access," he noted.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com