 | Thanks to reader kh for noticing this article in the Washington Post today. It's about the lonely foreclosure auctioneer in Prince William County. Maybe one of us should attend sometime to bring him some coffee and tell him to keep his chin up. |
From Foreclosure Auctioneer's Lonely Task by Nick Miroff:
"With an unhurried stride and a fresh stack of mortgage loans gone bad, Rick Crossley arrived at the small plaza outside the Prince William County courthouse on a bright, windy morning recently and found it deserted. He cleared his throat, opened a thick folder and, with little ceremony, began to read aloud. . . .
The deliveryman unloading packages nearby paid no attention; a sheriff's deputy gave little more than a passing glance. Crossley continued.
'This is a trustee's foreclosure auction,' he announced. 'Any parties with interest, please step forward at this time.'
. . .
'Lot of interest out here this morning,' Crossley muttered.
It wasn't always such a lonely job'".
16 comments:
"Maybe one of us should attend sometime to bring him some coffee and tell him to keep his chin up."
Yeah! Coffee and a bagel and cheering him on when he gives his monologue.
The banks are stupid. They should take their worse unit, price it a dollar, absolute.
Bidders would come out of the woodwork.
The other places? Cut the damn price too. Just get the word out that they are starting low, not necessarly at a buck. $100K on a $400K place is fine.
I'd be there as would hundreds of others. I attended one of the Resolution Trust Absolute Auctions in the area about 15 years ago.
It was standing room only and places sold for 70-80% of assessment.
They started low but the bidding took the price right up there.
If people know they have a chance at a real bargain, they'll bring their checkbooks.
Instead the banks make that guy drive around Virginia and conduct sham auctions. Then they end up owning the place they owned.
Next they have to prep it for sale, work a deal with a realtor. That just runs up their costs.
Having a huge foreclosure event seems to be the way to do it.
check out:
http://www.ushomeauction.com/auction_details.php?auctionID=H-018
1000's of homes in MD,VA,DC will be auctioned over 3 days.
I'm really thinking there is money to be made off this mess.
Slightly OT (but the links are from the auction):
What is up with the little breezeways connecting these houses? Is there some sort of tax incentive?
http://tinyurl.com/2o4r2c
http://tinyurl.com/2otegz
Personally, i think they look ridiculous, and I would imagine that they are a fire hazard.
I wonder how long it is going to take for sellers to get real about prices in Arlington. I have seen the same houses on homesdatabase.com for months with minimal or no price drops -- and some are being listed for 10s or 100s of $$ ABOVE what they were bought for at the height of the market. Others have been taken off the market because they haven't sold. Do the sellers really think the spring season is going to bring out a lot of buyers that will be only too happy to pay well over what the houses are worth and take the risk of losing $$$ when they have to sell later? Don't they realize we read the papers too?
A Realtor in my neighborhood tried to convince me that "there really hasn't been much of a price drop" (except for my house, which he wanted to sell :-)) and "houses are still selling..." Yeah, a grand total of about 5 in my zip last month. So, technically, you can still use the plural of "house", I guess.
oops, that "10s or 100s" should have been "10s or 100s of thousands"!
Those breezeways are wired. I have never seen anything like that in 20 years of land development in NOVA.
Interesting article about Piedmont. It's not just PW County that is getting double digit price drops..
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022208H.shtml
Pat: I saw something similar back in 2002 when a realtor was driving me around the Herndon/Frankling Farm area.
I found a Zillow satellite image of them here:
http://tinyurl.com/36lkvm
If you can zoom in, you can see them.
Someone asked about them on Zillow, and at least in the case of the Herndon houses, those are sheds that attach the houses. Weird.
http://tinyurl.com/2vyg5g
"Interesting article about Piedmont. It's not just PW County that is getting double digit price drops.."
Yes!
Haymarket is getting hammered as well - there are PLENTY of Foreclosures out in those gated communities as well - don't let them fool you!!
@novawatcher,
'bout those attached, wired sheds. They work better than stockade fences to prevent casual use of your yard as an escape route/short cut. During lean times, sheds are income producing. Woodbridge and Herndon, as I recall, have demand for both applications.
@novawatcher,
'bout those attached, wired sheds. They work better than stockade fences to prevent casual use of your yard as an escape route/short cut. During lean times, sheds are income producing. Woodbridge and Herndon, as I recall, have demand for both applications.
No shows at courthouse steps are pretty common. The sale has to be OVER what the bank is owed.
I would say that 85-95% of what is available at the courthouse has no equity in it, so it is just a formality.
The REAL auctions get 1,000 people trying to get rich quick and getting a deal.
Frank
Blog.FranklyRealty.com
"The REAL auctions get 1,000 people trying to get rich quick and getting a deal."
OK, understood but why the BS reserve and right to refuse for the auction listed above?
You want me down there (and others), give us an up and up auction and I will take on Neil, Lance, even you but it has to be fair and I have to have a chance to make $$$$.
I'm not interested in bidding and being told that even though I won in the big hall, my bid was too low.
I attended the Resolution Trust auction in Crystal City. When the auction is fair, serious people bring out their checkbooks.
Frank: "No shows at courthouse steps are pretty common. The sale has to be OVER what the bank is owed. "
Hey Frank,
'splain me this. If the sale goes through at over what the bank is owed, doesn't that get the previous owner off the hook?
Ignoring any 2nd on the place, haven't the books been balanced?
Does that let the Home-Debtor walk?
Can we please move onto a legit, up and up auction where Tabitha can get her house, fairly at fair market rates?
I'm tired of this BS, the reports of languishing houses in PWC and Howard, people priced out of the market.
Are banks that stupid? It costs them big bucks to leave a house empty. Between vandals ripping out the copper pipes and appliances, debt running, weeds, insects, rodents, squatters, things just wearing out. Sell the d*mn place!!!!
Lets just do it, get it over, and move on. It should have been quick, over and done by early 2006.
What am I missing?
/angry this morning
//not at the blog, taxes.
KH-
I'm no RE expert, but if I had to guess, it appears that the Banks are holding out for one last shot at a "Spring" market, to get a "decent" price.
The weeds aren't growing yet and everyone's lawn is dead, so the foreclosures don't look too bad....yet (just wait till mid- July!)
My neighbors in the spanky gated golf community where I RENT take "care" of the foreclosures next door to them. This way they feel like it helps keep their "equity" in their own home.
In other words, lets keep up the appearances of being "OK" in this hood (when they really aren't!)
This trend will just get worse as time wears on.
But I too, am waiting for the Banks to reduce their prices & just write off the losses.
It will happen, it always does when these cycles bottom out!
"But I too, am waiting for the Banks to reduce their prices & just write off the losses."
I'm with you 100%.
I'm fairly certain that Alexandria, Arlington, DC will ride this out just fine.
I'm tired of waiting for prices, "out there" to fall.
The longer it goes on, the worse for everyone.
I hope you're right. That this spring, they come to their senses.
That will allow new owners to buy, fix up the places, plant trees, etc.
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