HUD home sale to ban investors

Organizers of a foreclosure-home auction scheduled for Saturday in Phoenix said their event will be unlike any previous home auction in Arizona for one simple reason: No investors are allowed.

BLB Resources, an asset-management firm based in Irvine, Calif., is tasked with disposing of all Arizona homes foreclosed on by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Saturday's auction, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa at 5350 E. Marriott Drive in Phoenix, will feature 150 detached homes and condo units in Phoenix, Maricopa, Mesa, Glendale, Buckeye and other Valley communities.


BLB Outreach Manager Ray Warda said it will be the first HUD foreclosure auction his firm has held in Arizona. It also is something of an experiment, Warda said, and it will be unusual because the only eligible bidders are those seeking a home in which to live.

The owner-occupant auction is part of a pilot program BLB is testing in metro Phoenix. If it proves successful for HUD, the seller, there could be more auctions like it in the future. However, Warda said it also could end up being a one-time opportunity.

All the homes were foreclosed on by HUD because the previous owners defaulted on U.S. Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages.

Requirements to qualify as a bidder include:

- A cashier's check for $1,000, made out to HUD, to be used as earnest money.

- Pre-qualification from a mortgage lender, or proof of adequate financial resources to buy the home outright.

- A valid Social Security number.

- A commitment to living in the property as the buyer's primary residence for at least 12 months.

The auction will be conducted by Phoenix-based auctioneers Hudson & Marshall.

Warda said each home will have an unpublished reserve price that the winning bidder must meet or exceed.

Although the reserve price generally is not disclosed, a number of informational Web sites focused on HUD homes indicate that HUD usually accepts offers at or slightly below a home's current appraised value.

For more on Saturday's auction, visit hudhouseauction.com.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Mar. 23, 2011 06:42 PM




HUD home sale to ban investors