Foreclosure Showcase Attracts Five Thousand

October 15th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosed Properties

Hunting for deals five thousand thronged New York Foreclosure Showcase held on Sunday 12th at Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Uniondale. A colonial house with five bedrooms in Hempstead was sold or $317,000 at the auction. It had been bought with a mortgage four years ago for $358,000. But the housing crisis had soured the loan and two years ago it slipped into foreclosure.

Todd Yovino was leading the show and has been dealing with foreclosed properties for the last two decades. He said that the market today was quite different in character from what it usually is. He said, “With the economy doing what it is doing, more people are struggling to keep their properties.” The positive side is that newer opportunities that had not been there before are coming up.

The Foreclosure showcase included workshops about pre-qualifying for loans and information about quick sale of properties that banks wanted to dispose of. There were booths that interested realtors who were focusing on foreclosed units, attorneys to give advice about risks and prospects as well as building experts to give advice about repair and fixing. The auction venue attracted the most attention. The highest bidders won 35 houses. They had to produce $10,000 in the form of certified cheques and also be pre-qualified for mortgage grant.

There were many novice attorneys like 28-year-old Benjie Acunis who had come only to learn about the happenings and the auction process. She was not one of the bidders. Her comments about the sale of foreclosed houses were that although these were cheap it would involve so much repair work that the budget could very well get busted.

Foreclosed houses are becoming more and more common and as such many events similar to this are being held right across the country. Bus tours are being conducted to lure potential buyers to view the houses in one tour. The foreclosure bus tours have become popular in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Detroit and Phoenix.

Among the participants at the show were Sal Albanese and Karen Garvey who were just engaged and hunting for their first nest. They gained a lot of information about federal loans, tax credits as well as various mortgage options. They also learnt about renovation costs. Albanese remarked, “I learned I really have to take my time and do my homework.”

Activity and participation in such events is good news for the housing market.