New Haven Independent

In her opinion, the pretty but faded 12-family house at the gateway to the West River neighborhood just wasn’t worth it. Not with a $489,000 repair bill looming.

Balaj (at left in photo) was Bidder #2 at the top of the steps to the federal courthouse opposite the Green Tuesday afternoon. She traveled to New Haven from Pleasantville, N.Y., for a kind of auction New Haven rarely sees, even amid the current foreclosure crisis.

The federal government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was auctioning off a property on which it had foreclosed, 1 Norton St., at the crossroads of Derby Avenue, George & Norton. Unlike most of the dozen or more state court-arranged foreclosure auctions that take place in Greater New Haven each Saturday, this was held on a weekday, not at the property up for sale, but rather amid the columns at the entrance to U.S. District Court on Church Street.

Notice of the HUD auction drew a larger than usual gaggle of onlookers, as well as three bidders. In a game of chicken, the three near-whispered competing offers from three directions at Shelley Marcus, the local attorney appointed by the court to conduct the auction.

It was a tricky game because of unknowns. There were the close to half million dollars of repairs HUD estimates the building needs. And the rules required that bidders meet a minimum bid — without knowing what the minimum was.

That got the bidders started at $500. The bidding crept up in $1,000 increments.

With a smile, Marcus noted that at the rate the competition could take quite a while. She also reminded the bidders that they needed to meet the magic minimum — in effect letting them know they were starting way low.

Two of the bidders were real estate investors from New York, Balaj and Bidder #3, a man named Glen Behr. Balaj, who markets property mostly in New York, said she was bidding on behalf of a client.

In a round robin, she, Behr, and bidder #1 (pictured) — who wouldn’t identify himself beyond saying he lives in town and wanted to fix up 1 Norton — offered $1,000, $2,000, $,3000…

Eventually Balaj offered $9,500. When Behr topped that, she drew back. She stuck around to watch, but her cards were folded.

“It’s a nice property,” she said. “But the neighborhood … Close to $500,000 [in repairs]! Plus the taxes.”

At this point, she said, the bidding had become about more than just the value of the property. It was about who could top whom.

And that took a while.

A while later Behr called out $63,000. And the property was his.

Or was it? Marcus said she had to “suspend” the auction while she made a phone call.

While the crowd chatted on the temporary auction grounds, Marcus walked away and called a HUD contact on her cell. (Click on the play arrow to watch.)

Apparently HUD disagreed with Lina Balaj. It considers 1 Norton worth a lot more than $9,500.

Even $63,000 proved below the minimum.

Marcus returned to announce that Behr had won the auction — for now. The two went inside the courthouse to complete the paperwork, pending a decision from HUD on whether to accept his offer.

Word came within the hour: HUD would take the $63,000. The property will be Behr’s assuming no problems arise in finalizing the sale.

Behr (pictured) had no comment about his interest or his plans.

HUD foreclosed on Venture Associates, a local limited partnership which has owned the circa 1920 house (pictured Tuesday evening) since 1981, when it received a $457,000 HUD-insured Connecticut Housing Finance Authority mortgage.

Previous Independent coverage of New Haven’s foreclosure crisis:

• Foreclosure Dream Goes Sour
• Judge Slashes Foreclosure Bounty
• Tax Break Saves Woman’s House
• Bank Replaces “Gunshot Alley” Landlord
• Foreclosure Bill OK’d
• Singh Seeks Home For A Song
• Foreclosure’s Neighbor Worries More About Speeding
• Networking Replaces Foreclosure at Christy’s
• Foreclosure Bargain — & Renewal — Jeopardized
• Bank Outbids Akbar; Family May Keep Home
• “So Don’t Worry About Pablo”
• Bankruptcy Postpones Foreclosure
• Next-Door Foreclosures, 53 Years Apart
• They Met On Foreclosure Way
• Little Garage Draws Big Bids
• A 2nd Chance on Lewis Street
• Foreclosure Attracts New Breed of “Specialist”
• In Foreclosures, Judge’s Hands Tied
• Home Saved From Foreclosure. Cycle, Too
• A House For Precious?
• Deutsche Bank Grabs Dixwell Condo
• Reluctant Bidder Snags F. Haven Bargain
• Well, There’s Always Powerball
• Neighbors Retrieve Home From Bank
• Somebody Has Plans For Bassett Street
• Foreclosed, the Khennavongs Leave the Santanas
• Foreclosure Steal May Be Too Good
• 2nd Foreclosure in 3 Months Dims Bright St.
• After Foreclosure, W’ville Owner Still Hopes To Sell
• He’s Not Buying, Yet
• Quiet Foreclosure on Porter Street
• 3 Minutes Too Late
• Historic Gambardella Property Foreclosed
•2 Homes Lost, 1 Gained
• “Everybody’s Got To Eat”
• More Foreclosures, More Signs
• Foreclosure Sale Benefits Archie Moore’s
• Rescue Squad Swings Into Action
• A Bidder Shows Up
• Bank Beats Tanya’s Bid
• Westville Auction Draws A Crowd
• DeStefano: Foreclosure Plan Ready
• Can They Help?
• “We Should Over-Regulate These Bastards”
• Rosa Hears of Rescues
• WPCA Grilled on Foreclosures
• WPCA’s Targets Struggle To Dig Out
• Sue The Subprimers?
• WPCA Hearing Delayed
• Megna’s “Blood Boils” at WPCA Tactics
• Goldfield Wants WPCA Answers
• 2 Days, 8 Foreclosure Suits
• WPCA Goes On Foreclosure Binge
• A Guru Weighs In
• WPCA Targets Church
• Subprime Mess Targeted
• Renters Caught In Foreclosure King’s Fall
• She’s One Of 1,150 In The Foreclosure Mill
• Foreclosures Threaten Perrotti’s Empire
•“I’m Not Going To Lay Down And Let Them Take My House”
• Struggling Couple Sues Over “Scam”

To learn about the ROOF Project, a community-wide effort to help New Haveners navigate the foreclosure crisis, click here.

The following links are to various materials and brochures designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

How to prepare a complaint to the Department of Banking; Department of Banking Online Assistance Form; Connecticut Department of Banking, Avoiding Foreclosure; FDIC Consumer News; Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc; Connecticut Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service.

For lawyer referral services in New Haven, call 562-5750 or visit this website. For the Department of Social Services (DSS) Eviction Foreclosure Prevention Program (EFPP), call 211 to see which community-based organization in the state serves your town.

Click here for information on foreclosure prevention efforts from Empower New Haven.