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Bidders Hope To Profit From Bay Area Foreclosures

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN

sbehnken@tampatrib.com

Published: November 25, 2008

TAMPA - Who would have thought foreclosure would be a selling point?

But buyers vying for nearly $80 million in loan assets in the Tampa Bay area are betting the owners will lose their properties to foreclosure.

The portfolio for sale includes $356 million in assets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Nevada and Louisiana. The properties include completed and partially completed homes, multifamily buildings, retail and commercial land.

The more troubled the loan, the better price it is expected to fetch. The thinking is that when the loan fails, the new owners of the loan can foreclose and then flip the property later for profit.

"The buyers of the loans already know what they're going to do with the assets," said Tom McCarthy, managing director of New York-based Carlton Advisory Services Inc., the company handling the sales.

Carlton would not give specifics on how many Bay area properties are included in the sale, but said 26 of the pools of loans for sale have interest in Florida loans.

"The loan assets are secured by properties in prime locations at very attractive prices, and represent exceptional value," said Howard Michaels, chairman of Carlton.

It may sound bad that the buyers are hopeful the loans will fail, McCarthy said, but this may be the only way the properties will succeed in the long run.

Many of the properties include half-built subdivisions with only a handful of residents. Without new buyers, he said, the neighborhood may not be completed.

Bids for the properties are due by Dec. 3. Anyone wanting information about bidding on the assets can call McCarthy at (561) 207-6240.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.

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