The Planned Exit: What a Builder and an Auctioneer Know About Selling at the Top

“Most people look at auctions as a last resort,” Vargas said. “Auctions are a planned strategy and not a last resort.”

His recommendation was to introduce the possibility early in a listing conversation—not because every home should go to auction, but because an informed seller should understand the full range of potential strategies. Discussed at the outset, an auction can represent a deliberate choice. Introduced only after months without a sale, it can feel like a reaction.

Luxury clients are entering conversations more informed, more intentional and with greater access to information than ever before. For the advisors and specialists serving them, that evolution is raising the standard—not only for expertise, but for the ability to anticipate what comes next.

REALM brought together two distinct perspectives for the fourth and final session of Inside the Advantage, its 2027 strategic planning series: Charles Ochello, founder of Park City-based custom-home builder Vitruvius, and Mario Vargas, partner and CEO of DeCaro Auctions. Working at different points in a property’s life, both arrived at a similar conclusion: the most valuable options are understood long before they are needed.

Building around the life a client intends to live

Ochello’s approach to luxury construction was shaped by an unconventional first career in emergency medicine, including work as an NFL sideline physician and in Super Bowl medical operations. That background in preparation, precision and individualized care remains visible in the way he approaches a custom residence.

“Every ultra net worth person is optimizing for time,” Ochello said. “It’s the one thing that they cannot make more of.”

For some clients, protecting time means designing a residence that welcomes multiple generations without compromising independence. Ochello described a plan with an approximately 3,000-square-foot main home connected by a glass bridge to separate guest accommodations. For others, it means integrating wellness considerations and the practical details that allow a home to serve its owners for decades.

Elevators, zero-threshold showers and thoughtful circulation are increasingly part of conversations with clients who may build in their 60s and hope to remain in the home well into their 90s. Natural materials and indoor-outdoor connections are also central to the environments he is creating.

The same long-range thinking applies to project management. Clients and family offices arrive with sophisticated research tools and expect realistic budgets, candid communication and fewer surprises. As Ochello put it, “Every client has an owner’s rep in ChatGPT or Claude sitting next to them.” A presentation containing only good news, he observed, can create skepticism rather than confidence.

Understanding the exit before it becomes urgent

Vargas approached the question of foresight from the other side of the transaction. DeCaro Auctions, a luxury auction business with more than four decades of experience, positions its model as a tailored option for properties and sellers whose objectives may not be best served by an open-ended traditional marketing timeline.

“Most people look at auctions as a last resort,” Vargas said. “Auctions are a planned strategy and not a last resort.”

His recommendation was to introduce the possibility early in a listing conversation—not because every home should go to auction, but because an informed seller should understand the full range of potential strategies. Discussed at the outset, an auction can represent a deliberate choice. Introduced only after months without a sale, it can feel like a reaction.

Vargas described a typical DeCaro process of approximately four to five weeks of marketing, followed by a bidding period and a closing targeted within 30 days, often producing a roughly 60-day overall timeline. The structure is intended to offer clarity around timing and terms, with reserve protections where applicable.

He also shared a Jackson Hole example in which the property went under contract in 36 days, before the scheduled auction began, after the seller accepted an early offer. The auction strategy helped create a defined moment for buyer decision-making, even though the sale ultimately proceeded ahead of the event.

Julie Faupel connected that approach to the advisor’s role: bringing a specialist into the conversation can shift a difficult discussion about price or timing toward a broader set of possible solutions.

The value of being prepared

Ochello and Vargas work in different disciplines, yet their perspectives speak to the same expectation among discerning clients. A thoughtful advisor does more than respond well when a challenge appears. They understand the client’s larger objectives, recognize which resources may become relevant and introduce them at the right moment.

The advantage is not simply access to expertise. It is knowing when—and why—to bring that expertise into the conversation.

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