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America's
Foreclosure
Epidemic
Tragedy for Some, Opportunity for Others
278 Texas Homes
To Be Sold At Auction Before ChristmasJust in time for Christmas, hundreds of foreclosed
homes in Texas are scheduled to be sold at public auction before the
season ends.
From a cozy 483 square foot cottage in Poteet to a
lavish 6400 square foot, 5-bedroom, 4-bath mansion in Dallas, lenders
intend to liquidate 278 properties at public auction between December 15
and December 21.
According to
Hudson & Marshall,
an auctioneering firm that specializes in foreclosed properties. Banks
are overwhelmed with the prospect of selling an avalanche of foreclosed
properties. The firm has already sold and closed over 70,000 bank-owned
homes nationwide. Lenders are turning to auction houses to quickly rid
themselves of unwanted inventories. That’s good news for first time
homeowners and investors who may have been locked out of the best deals
during the boom years.
With the foreclosure crises now in full bloom,
lending institutions and savvy investors are increasingly turning to
auction houses, both on and offline. The largest online auction house in
the world, eBay, currently taking bids on
764 foreclosure related auctions nationwide. The online
auction giant lists a total of 382 Texas properties at auction of
which 44 are foreclosure related. Current bids range from $511 for a
scenic lot near the Trinity River to $625,000 for a waterfront home in
Austin. Incredibly eBay auctioned off an
entire Texas town in February 2008.
The Texas auctions that
Hudson & Marshall
have scheduled for the days leading up to Christmas include sales in
over 100 locations across the state. Auction locations with the largest
number of properties to be sold are: Houston (50), San Antonio (23),
Dallas (21), Fort Worth (10), Spring (10), Cedar Hill (8), and Mesquite
(6). People interested in bidding can also place sealed bids online.
Foreclosed property auctions like eBay and Hudson &
Marshall make it easier than ever before for first time homebuyers and
investors to purchase homes at a discount because sellers are anxious to
get non-performing loans off their books.
"Buyers who were pushed to the sidelines of the
real estate market several years ago because of escalating home prices,
now have a chance to jump in the market," said Dave Webb,
principal Hudson & Marshall.
Dec-07-08
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