It was my birthday last December 9, 2008 and I decided to spend a relaxing afternoon at the CBRE public auction of foreclosed properties which happened to be on the same day. Aside from the delicious pasta they served as merienda which I jokingly referred to as my birthday treat, I was also pleasantly surprised when the courteous and friendly staff of CBRE, the auction organizer, recognized me as a successful bidder in a previous auction they had, even though that was more than a year ago.
When I mentioned that I had no intention in bidding for any of the properties up for auction since I have neither inspected nor checked any of the properties for encumbrances etc, they still accommodated me well and insisted I stay during the auction. Perhaps I was getting a VIP treatment since they knew I was a serious buyer. They were very receptive and accommodating to my questions, particularly when I asked them if they had any properties that would meet any of my existing requirements. They gladly referred me to agents of participating banks. Now I’m just waiting for them to give me listings which would hopefully turn up good leads.
Based on the opening remarks, about 10 banks had participated in the auction, which would explain the large number of properties available. During the auction proper however, I noticed that there were only a few bidders present. In fact, the auctioneer had decided to ask in advance if there were any bidders for properties which he had grouped by tens. It turns out a lot of properties had no bidders at all and they were skipped to save time. I’m not really sure if holding the auction on a Tuesday had anything to do with the poor attendance. Anyway, I noted all of the properties that had no bidders so I can review and submit negotiated bids in case I happen to find any good deals. There were still however a few properties that got sold, most of which got sold at the minimum bid price. This was very different with the recent UCPB auction which had the venue jam-packed and lots of interested bidders for most of the properties, jacking up prices significantly (more on this in another post).
The auction ended before it was 4pm, which I believe makes this as one of the shortest auctions I have ever attended, lasting only about an hour, even though a lot of properties were listed for auction. This is a perfect opportunity to find good deals in the unsold properties and submit negotiated bids with big discounts. If you are interested, you can download the post auction list of available properties here. Just call them to ask for a copy of the “Offer to purchase” form.
Feel free to leave your comments especially if you need any help or advice to get started in investing in foreclosures. Happy Hunting!
