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Bidders find bargains at foreclosed homes auction

Tribune photo by CHRIS URSO

Diana Alebord, of Sarasota, looks through a brochure of available properties Tuesday, April 21, 2009 during a house auction held at the Tampa Convention Center.

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 22, 2009

TAMPA - Diana Alebord knew what she wanted – a three-bedroom, two-bath house – and she had three properties in mind.

The 45-year-old Sarasota woman drove to Tampa, hoping to find a bargain at an auction of foreclosed homes held Tuesday night at the Tampa Convention Center.

The auction, hosted by Real Estate Disposition Corp., a California-based company, drew 1,150 people. Many of them walked away with a steal, snapping up homes and condominiums, some valued at more than $300,000, for nearly half that price.

"I own a condo and I want to find a nice house," Alebord said, before the auction began. "With this market, I'll probably rent out my condo. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a good deal."

Tuesday's auction was the fifth event in Florida hosted by REDC this week. Tonight, the company is in Jacksonville.

There were 105 houses up for auction Tuesday night, stretching along the west coast from Weeki Wachee to Sarasota. In all, 75 were sold for $7.1 million, said REDC spokesman Rick Weinberg.

"We're very pleased with the results from the Tampa auction," REDC chief executive officer Jeff Frieden said in a statement. "Many people walked away with some incredible bargains."

REDC had 700 properties across the state for sale at auctions from Pensacola to Miami. Last year, the company auctioned 32,799 homes for a total of $3.4 billion. So far this year, it has auctioned more than 7,650 homes for $750 million.

The rules were strict Tuesday night. Anyone wanting to place a bid had to have $2,500 in cash or a cashier's check. Respective bidders ranged from families looking for their first home to older couples looking for an investment property. Some people traveled from south Florida, having already participated in auctions earlier in the week. Others watched the auction on the Internet, placing bids online.

Max McKoy, his wife Susanna and their two daughters sat on metal folding chairs, hoping to find a small house they could keep as a vacation home if his job forced him to relocate. The Parrish couple was looking at properties listed in Sarasota, but their budget would only allow them to spend $40,000.

"If we do leave Florida, we'd like to have something to hold onto," McKoy said.

Alebord said she had visited several of the properties listed in Sarasota, which REDC officials recommend. Since the homes are sold "as is," they asked people not to bid if they had not thoroughly checked out their choices.

Many of the properties had been abandoned by previous owners. Alebord said that knowledge impacted her when she visited the homes she liked.

"You can tell people abandoned it, they left. Even though it was in good condition, you could feel the sense of loss," she said.

The thought of benefiting from someone else's misfortune didn't stay with her, however.
"It was sad when I was viewing the home, you could feel it," she said. "But not here. It's all business, it's not personal."

Once the auction began, the air inside the large, concrete hall became charged with energy. A separate financing area was curtained off to the side. Officials from several lending institutions, such as Countrywide, Chase and Wells Fargo, waited to meet with winning bidders.

The auctioneer barely breathed as he whipsawed through the listings, increasing the total sale price with each new bid. Early sales set the tone: A $265,000 Wesley Chapel home sold for $135,000. A $375,000 New Port Richey house sold for $110,000.

One man won an Ybor City house valued at $145,000 for just $22,500.

Alebord wasn't as lucky. The three properties she was interested in were all removed from the listing, already sold.

"That's OK," she said as she left, still smiling. "It was a wonderful experience."

The final auction of the week will be held Thursday in Fort Walton Beach.

The public can see the homes up for sale online at www.auction.com. Interested residents can pre-register for the auctions tonight and Thursday on the Web site or by calling 1-800-793-6107.

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915.

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