Never Buy At A Foreclosure Or Trustees' Sale (Unless You Know What You're Doing) - Part 2

In an earlier post, I referred to a media report describing the experience of a naive, young Ohio couple with absolutely no clue of what they were doing who went to a foreclosure sale and were the winning bidders on what they thought was going to be the home of their dreams (see New home turns into a Catch-22).

Now comes forward restauranteur Michael Acciardi, 47, of Saddle River, New Jersey who finds himself in a similar predicament. He's the guy (referred to in an earlier post) who bought the home next door to his at a foreclosure sale for $2.6 million before authorities found nearly two dozen dead cats and dogs, more than 100 live cats and mounds of feces inside (see Purchaser Of $2.6 Million Home At Foreclosure Sale Experiences Rude Surprise).

According to a story in The Bergen Record, Mr. Acciardi announced last Friday that he's now trying to back out of the deal. Reportedly, he said, "These are extenuating circumstances and I need to be relieved of this sale. [...] I'm not going to lay down on this. [...] I should have been told." He described the scene inside the home as an "atrocity" and said his attorney has filed to "unravel the sale."

I wish Mr. Acciardi luck in his attempt to get a judge to relieve him of the mess he got himself into. I suspect that Acciardi, an apparently successful businessman, will have great difficulty convincing a judge that he was a "poor, financially unsophisticated dupe" who was somehow "pressured" or "conned" into going to a foreclosure sale and buying a house for $2.6 million, thereby deserving some form of equitable relief from a court. On the other hand, given that Acciardi is a local resident who is apparently financially well-off, anything is possible in court if you have the right lawyer and get the right judge.

For the story, see Neighbor never saw 'disgusting' interior. See also:

• $2.6M Pig In A Poke (New York Post),
• Feces-soiled Mansion Sickens New Owner (Inside Edition) - reports that the home is so contaminated, it may have to be torn down - (no longer available online),
• Go here for other posts on this story.