Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Registration for Palm Beach County Online Foreclosure Auctions Begin

by Kim Miller
Interested bidders can begin registering for Palm Beach County’s online foreclosure auctions Jan. 6 when the site goes live for the first time.

About 150 people attended four training sessions at the courthouse Tuesday, more than initially expected and enough to force two additional sessions to be opened.


Mark Broderick, director of civil county services for the clerk, said a handful of attendees were auction regulars _ real estate investors who make a living with the foreclosure auctions, which are currently held in the courthouse cafeteria.

But many people were novices, who will have better access to foreclosures through the new eBay-like system.

“It’s very similar to what goes on now, it’s just taking it online,” Broderick said.

The auctions are being moved online because of the overwhelming foreclosures flooding the system.

In Palm Beach County, more than 45,000 pending foreclosure cases are in the system, with an average of 2,500 new cases being filed each month.

A Pittsburgh-based company, Grant Street Group, will handle the auctions, which will be paid for with a $60 fee charged to the winning bidder.

Several counties, including Miami-Dade, Lee and Charlotte, have begun using online auctions to cover foreclosure sales.

Palm Beach County’s first online auction will be held Jan. 21. The final “public out-cry” auction in the cafeteria will probably be Jan. 14.

“It’s really changing the dynamics,” said Evan Balash, a plaintiff’s representative who attends auctions. “One of the biggest part of going to sales is the personal interaction.”