The Results Are Rather Stunning!
As of March 18, 2015 there have already been 1098 Foreclosure Auctions in Pinellas County. This figure alone is compelling because it’s quite frankly a relatively low number when compared to the total number of deeds recorded during that same period, 7551.
Take a look at these two data sets
What is most compelling about the auctions that did occur is how many sold back to the Plaintiff, 830. That means of the total 1,098 auctions held only 267 made their way into the hands of third parties…you know, the buyers that would fix the properties, flip them and return them to the open market. So what’s happending to those vast majority of the homes that are being captured by the plaintiff bank servicers? I suspect they are largely being held, perhaps to be trickled out and sold at a later date. But why are the servicers not allowing the most efficient means to dispose of these properties actually dispose of the property? The bidding activity shows there is a very healthy investor marketplace. There were only 120 $100 bids, but the far more interesting thing happens when the property bids get above $100,000. What you see is very healthy bidder activity with participants in the public auction…frankly crazy bidding activity. Activity that makes no financial sense. Here’s one example:
12000 GULF BLVD # 603-W
TREASURE ISLAND
Is assessed at $374,000. So why in God’s name did it get bid up to $782,100? A third party bidder was willing to pay $782,000, but the bank plaintiff beat them out and raised the final bid to $782,100 in order to ensure they “won” the bid and took title to the property. A final bid on a condo hotel, single unit double than the assessed value. That makes zero sense. On the surface at least. But there is of course much more going on. An incredibly sophisticated game of market manipulation with large institutional investors colluding with the ultimate market maker, the federal government.
I’m long past being flabbergasted by the way in which courts and the government have colluded with banks to manipulate the foreclosure disaster that they all worked together to create and quite frankly the failure of anyone to even look into these issues is even more disturbing…but there will be a price to be paid.