Foreclosure: Party On At Hilton Concord Hotel

July 22nd, 2007 | Tags: Foreclosure

Investors as well as hopeful house owners are crowding in at the Hilton Concord Hotel to attend the auction. 87 Bay Area houses will be auctioned off with the swing of the hammer. The operations will be conducted by Dallas based auctioneers, Hudson & Marshall Co. Auctions will be on full swing at other four North California locations. On Thursday one had been held in Modesto and on Sunday another is scheduled in Sacramento.

Representative of the auction house, David Webb explained that there is no starting bid. The bidders are given the initiative. The final deal however is restricted by the wishes of the seller. Generally the seller is an asset management company working for a national lender like Wells Fargo & Co. In about 48 hours the seller gives the green or red signal. Webb analyzed that 60% of the bidders are investors while the others are looking for a home.

As per rules the bidders must pay 5% of the price as ready money and the balance within 30 days. The units are sold on ‘as is’ basis. The seller pays for insurance enabling the buyer to get the deed free from any lien. Before the start of the proceedings the potential bidders are expected to know about the details of the unit that are readily available from the related real estate agent.

The auction does not deal exclusive with foreclosures. For instance Jane Wagner is hoping to sell off her ace property on Berkeley Hills for at least $2,249,500. The auction is not HUD, or IRS or REPO but a marketing tactic to bring together the buyer and seller within a short time to mutually benefit each other. JoEllen King a real estate broker also echoes the view that it is a satisfactory marketing strategy. Another agent, Cecil Tippery has staked 12 properties in this auction and is of the view that although auctions are fine it is more expedient to shop in the pre-sale market. Usually 20% of the houses are sold before the auction hammer falls. Agents get a 2% commission either way – auction or outright sale but Tippery is of the view that auction is the better option.

Hudson & Marshall have auctioned about 50,000 houses since 1999. Their focus is on foreclosures. Lenders favor their expeditious services. It takes about two minutes to settle the sale of a unit.

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