Lenders At Foreclosed Home Auction Stiff Winning Bidders; Refuse To Sell, Claiming Highest Bids Weren't High Enough

In Salt Lake City, Utah, local media stories report:

• It drew hundreds of spectators and willing buyers, but it turns out, a recent real-estate auction was a bust. The bank turned down offers from the highest bidders, even though the properties were foreclosures. There is no reason to believe it was a scam, but there is some evidence that perhaps the banks got really nervous and disappointed a lot of buyers. For more, see Bidders Won't Get The Properties They Won At Auction.

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• An auction that netted $7.5 million in bids on 56 distressed Utah properties fell through last week after the owners -- three banks and two private lenders -- decided they may get a better deal by holding out for the government's bailout plan. [...] "This has never happened before. In the 25 years we've conducted lender-owned auctions, we've consistently closed over 95 percent of all high bids," [an auction company rep] said. "The stock market's historic drop last week and the bailout plan are some of the main reasons why the lenders rejected the bids," he said. For more, see Utah foreclosure auction flops.