Foreclosure Auctions Choc-A-Bloc With Excitement
The old courthouse in Colin County takes on the look of a free party replete with soda sipping groups on lawn chairs. The first Tuesdays of each month draw investors, speculators and novices to transform cursed houses into blessings. The publicity has added fuel to the interest and excitement. The first foreclosure auction in 2008 falls bang on New Year’s Day.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth region about 43,000 foreclosures had been listed during 2007. It calculated to a jump of 10% over the previous year. In Dallas County the number of foreclosures listed was 20,086 failing to beat by a slim margin the 1989 record of 24,000. In Collin County foreclosures jumped by 19% with the numbers touching 5,019.
The crowd at the auction sites huddles around trustees who announce the address and the minimum bid of each unit. After noon the speed picks up. The veterans come with binders and marked listings and occupy the front seats. Sometimes they sneak into the bar for a quick pep up. The newcomers sit back – waiting, watching and listening. Many do not have a clue about auctions and foreclosures but they nurse a hope that perhaps this is the chance of a lifetime to change fortunes overnight.
The tale is routine however – most of the houses go back to the lenders. Successful bidders have to pay on the spot. For Brad Albers and his father it is a full time job researching and bidding on houses before fixing them for resale. All this is done against the background of a market that is uncertain.
The auction venue in Dallas County has all the tones of a stock exchange. The basement of Frank Crowley Courts building is jammed with chattering bidders and onlookers surrounded by the legal fraternity – judges, lawyers, clerks and officers. Multiple callers are crying out at the same time. Yara Salameh is a stay-at-home mother. She felt intimated by the atmosphere. Cash is being thrown around. It seems that the market is hot.
Most of bidders have not had a chance to see inside of the properties. Then there is the risk that there might be other liens on the unit and also unpaid taxes. All this the buyer will inherit – lock stock and barrel. It is risky deal and not as easy as it sounds and looks. Novices might easily get their fingers burnt.
Related Posts
