The atmosphere at foreclosures can range from sad to grim to tragic. In the case of the condo at 130 Winchester Ave., it was genial — because nobody present was bidding.
Instead, Joseph McVerry, the court-appointed attorney handling the sale struck up a brief friendship with Officer Salvador Rodriguez (pictured) as they waited for bidders to show up on rainy Saturday morning to raise their hands and brandish checks.
When none of them showed up, yet another distressed New Haven property went to an absentee foreign lender inheriting a problem caused in part by the selling of by reckless mortgages.
The lender is Deutsche Bank. An estimated 12 percent of all New Haven foreclosures since 2006 have been initiated by the German-based bank, making it harder for the city to start putting distressed properties in the hands of local people who can rebuild and/or reinhabit them.
The debt on the foreclosed-upon owner, one Maurice Levey, long gone from the property, had ballooned with interest to $138,000. Levey had originally borrowed $124,000 in Fremont Investment and Loan company,which then assigned the debt to Deutsche Bank.
Deutsche faxed in an opening bid of $129,600, according to attorney McVerry, a gregarious 77-year old semi-retired attorney who lives in Hamden. He said he had received a few calls about the property, but there was not much action, perhaps because the appraised value of the condo had dropped in a year from $180,000 to $160.000.
The spacious two-bedroomer is part of well-maintained Eugene McCabe Condominiums between Compton and Woodland, off Winchester Avenue.
“Well,” said McVerry, “when no one shows up to bid, a proceeding does not formally have to be even opened.”
Which meant he could josh with Rodriguez, a 14-year police veteran, about what the officer was going to do with the next four hours of his private-duty assignment.
“What if I wanted to invite Sal out for a beer?” McVerry joked.
“I can’t drink beer on duty,” said Rodriguez, who now works the Hill after a long stint in Westville.
“No,” said McVerry. “But what if I wanted to, say, ‘Take a spin in the car or go shopping.’”
“Well, not really,” said the soft-spoken Rodriguez with a smile.
“Of course, the deal is,” confessed McVerry, who does four or five stints as a committee for the court a year, “Sal is hired by me for this location alone.”
McVerry said when he got the 130 Winchester assignment, he didn’t even know where it was. When he drove by to scope the place out, he decided to hire an off-duty police officer to provide security. In his filing with the court, he said, the reason he offered was that security was “prudent due to the character of the neighborhood.”
In fact the Eugene McCabe Condominiums, of which the foreclosed unit #19 is a part, is a quiet, amiable enclave. The unit itself, McVerry said, was in surprisingly good shape. A bit like a real estate agent eager for a client, he showed a reporter the rooms, with their bright and freshly painted walls, one with a border of fish. “This would be great for kids and a family.”
Alas, by 11:05 a.m., when bidders would have certainly been there, none had shown.
So McVerry and Rodriguez were just talking and taking in the landscaping and the nicely sloping green lawns. “The minimum you can hire an officer for is five hours,” said Rodriguez.
The minimum is set by union rules; the fee is about $220. Attorney McVerry petitions the court for his own fees, including expenses for advertising, and in this case, the security and congeniality provided by Officer Rodriguez.
He won’t be listing the usual foreclosure sign as an expense, he said: In a condo, what with the proximity of the neighbors, the court does not require a sign as it does in the cases of private, free-standing houses.
After a few more minutes of scanning the quiet long courtyard for bidders, McVerry said to Rodriguez: “So what are you gonna do with all that free time?”
“Oh, go home,” said Rodriguez, who lives in Fair Haven Heights. “Relax, take a nap, maybe have a beer.”
“Beer’s okay because you’re off duty, right?”
“Right. I think I’m going to watch the Yankee game.”
As they both headed off, however, a curious spectator, who had drifted by before, returned. Jacqueline Lindsay had attended auctions before, but never as a buyer. She’d learned about this one online, but was looking for a bargain, like half the market price.
“Well, for this one, you’d have to have bid $129,600 and one penny,” he explained.
Still she asked, “How can I be in touch with the bank that bought the property?”
McVerry gave the contact info of the lawyers representing Deutsche Bank. An onlooker suggested to Lindsay perhaps a call to the City Hall might be useful, as the city might be negotiating with Deutsche Bank to encourage them to sell properties such as the inviting 130 Winchester to local people like Lindsay.
“Good idea,” said Lindsay.
“OK,” said McVerry as he and Rodriguez got into their separate vehicles. “I like the idea of the Yankee game too.”
Previous Independent coverage of New Haven’s foreclosure crisis:
‚Ä¢ In Foreclosures, Judge’s Hands Tied
• Home Saved From Foreclosure. Cycle, Too
• A House For Precious?
• Reluctant Bidder Snags F. Haven Bargain
‚Ä¢ 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.
‚Ä¢ After Foreclosure, W’ville Owner Still Hopes To Sell
‚Ä¢ He’s Not Buying, Yet
• Quiet Foreclosure on Porter Street
• 3 Minutes Too Late
• Historic Gambardella Property Foreclosed
•2 Homes Lost, 1 Gained
‚Ä¢ “Everybody’s Got To Eat”
• More Foreclosures, More Signs
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Sale Benefits Archie Moore’s
• Rescue Squad Swings Into Action
• A Bidder Shows Up
‚Ä¢ Bank Beats Tanya’s Bid
• Westville Auction Draws A Crowd
• DeStefano: Foreclosure Plan Ready
• Can They Help?
‚Ä¢ “We Should Over-Regulate These Bastards”
• Rosa Hears of Rescues
• WPCA Grilled on Foreclosures
‚Ä¢ WPCA’s Targets Struggle To Dig Out
• Sue The Subprimers?
• WPCA Hearing Delayed
‚Ä¢ 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
‚Ä¢ Renters Caught In Foreclosure King’s Fall
‚Ä¢ She’s One Of 1,150 In The Foreclosure Mill
‚Ä¢ Foreclosures Threaten Perrotti’s Empire
‚Ä¢“I’m Not Going To Lay Down And Let Them Take My House”
‚Ä¢ Struggling Couple Sues Over “Scam”
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.
