1,800 Homes Up For Auction

An Irvine, Calif., auction company hopes to find buyers for 1,800 bank-owned foreclosed homes throughout Florida.

The company, Real Estate Disposition Corporation, is traveling the state holding auctions. The first two are scheduled for 9:30 this morning at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay in Tampa and Sarasota's Bradenton International Convention Center, then 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center.

More than 100 of the homes are located in the Tampa Bay area.

"Despite being in a foreclosure crisis, we still have families and people in the area getting incredible homes at incredible prices because of the foreclosure crisis," said Rick Weinberg, spokesman for the company.

The company also has auctions planned for Jacksonville, Pensacola, Kissimmee, Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, Orlando, Miami and West Palm Beach. The auction schedule is at www.ushomeauction.com.

Weinberg said the company auctioned a record 32,799 foreclosed homes for a total of $3.4 billion in 2008. So far this year, Weinberg said, the company has auctioned 2,300 foreclosed homes in Southern California and Arizona.

Florida's 2008 foreclosure rate ranked it second worst in the nation, and the Tampa area's rate was 13th among cities with high numbers of filings. RealtyTrac Inc., which tracks distressed properties, recently reported that Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties combined had 53,630 filings. That's up 123 percent from 2007.

Here are some of the homes to be auctioned this weekend:

•5015 Devon Park Drive, Tampa - five bedrooms; 3,260 square feet; starting bid: $219,000.

•5067 Faberge Place, Sarasota - three bedrooms; 2,100 square feet; starting bid: $69,000.

•2156 N.E. 62nd St., Fort Lauderdale - two bedrooms; 1470 square feet; starting bid: $69,000.

All the homes can be viewed on the company's Web site.

"This is a great buyers' market that we are currently in, making it the perfect time for the public to get great deals on foreclosed properties at our auctions," said Jeffrey Frieden, the company's CEO. "We have a huge selection of wonderful homes, and we help buyers through each and every step of the process, ensuring a great experience and an effortless purchase."

Interested bidders must preregister at www.ushomeauction.com or by calling 1-800-793-6107.