In-person farewell? Oklahoma County sheriff's foreclosure auctions are going online only
No more in-person Oklahoma County sheriff's sales. The first-ever sheriff's online auction of foreclosed properties launches Tuesday, with two homes offered in Oklahoma City.
The auction will be from 10 a.m to noon, according to Bid4Assets, an online marketplace for distressed real estate sales based in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Prospective bidders must register a free Bid4Assets account in order to participate in the sale. For a list of properties up for auction, go to bid4assets.com/OKCSheriff. Bidders who lack access to the internet must contact Bid4Assets at (301) 650-9193 to ask for an offline paper bid packet.
The homes to be auctioned Tuesday are:
6905 Eagles Landing: a 1,958-square-foot home built in 2005. Minimum bid is $116,667.
1901 NE 66: a 1,681-square-foot home built in 1958. Minimum bid is $50,000.
Why did the Oklahoma County sheriff turn to online auctions for foreclosure sales?
“Our office is always searching for new ways to utilize technology to benefit the residents of Oklahoma County,” Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said in a press release from Bid4Assets. “Bringing these auctions online will open participation up to more bidders, reduce blight in the community and free up our staff to spend more time working with homeowners seeking to remove their property from the sale.”
Bid4Assets said it collaborated with sheriffs, attorneys and legislators to pass state Senate Bill 976, signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 25, 2022, which gave Oklahoma sheriffs "the option, but not the mandate, to conduct foreclosure auctions online."
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Bid4Assets said its services come at no cost to Oklahoma County, plaintiffs, defendants or foreclosure attorneys. Other Oklahoma sheriffs also plan put foreclosure sales online, Bid4Assets said.
Oklahoma County sheriff's sales are held every other Tuesday at 10 a.m. online only.
What is required of bidders on sheriff's foreclosure sales in Oklahoma County
Bidders must meet the following requirements:
Minimum bid must be at least two-thirds of the appraised price of the property.
Down payment of at least 10% of the purchase price is due within 24 hours of sale. The remaining 90% of the purchase price is due within 14 days of the sale date, before the confirmation hearing.
All funds will be collected via certified funds − cashier's checks, wire transfers and money orders − directly by Bid4Assets.
What we know about Bid4Assets, which is taking Oklahoma County foreclosure auctions online
Bid4Assets, founded in 1999, was one of the first online property auction sites and said it has been auctioning federally forfeited and seized properties for agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Department of Treasury for more than 20 years.
“Bid4Assets has two primary goals with Oklahoma County: increase efficiency and drive sales,” said Jesse Loomis, company president. “When properties sell for more than the amount needed to satisfy the debts of the property, the borrower may claim those excess proceeds."
He added, "The focus of our marketing team is to drive participation and bidding in these sales to help distressed homeowners preserve equity in their home and other counties that we’ve transitioned online have seen a dramatic increase in these proceeds."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County sheriff's foreclosure sales go online with Bid4Assets
