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In hopes of stimulating the local housing market, ""Broward County"":http://www.broward.org/Pages/Welcome.aspx in South Florida, which had the state's third-highest foreclosure rate in February, recently launched ""a new Web site"":https://www.broward.realforeclose.com/ to auction off foreclosed homes.
[IMAGE]The first online auction will take place on March 30, 2010. But the foreclosure site is already available for bidders to register, make deposits, and review upcoming properties for sale.
According to a recent ""article on Sun-sentinel.com"":http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-online-foreclosure-auction-20100319,0,7953028.story, the online system is expected to clear the county's backlog of
[COLUMN_BREAK]foreclosure cases and attract bidders across the world. In Broward, more than 5,300 homes are scheduled for auction, and 2,000 more will be set soon, the article said.
Broward Clerk of Courts Howard C. Forman said the new, convenient service is part of his office’s ongoing efforts to use technology for improved efficiencies, customer service, and access to the courts. He compared the new foreclosure Web site to eBay, saying it’s better to have an auction ""where the bidders are all far apart rather than in one room.""
Forman said as many as 1,000 homes a week could be put on the auction block through the online system, which would more than double the number of homes that were auctioned at the county courthouse each week in January.
Following a change in state law in 2008, Florida was the first state in the nation to put foreclosure sales online, the Sun-sentinel.com article said. Since then, many counties have started online auctions, and Broward County plans to make adjustments to its auctions based on lessons learned in other counties.
The auctions will be run by ""Realauction.com"":http://www.realauction.com/, a Plantation, Florida-based company that also runs online auctions in Miami-Dade and 11 other counties in the Sunshine State.
