THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9511300303
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LOUKIA LOUKA, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 197 lines
The day they sold everything Della Mae Greenfield owned, the clouds were trying to decide if they too should pour forth what they have.
It was cloudy and the slate gray skies offered an occasional raindrop, but not enough to halt the day's plan: the estate auction of Greenfield's four-bedroom brick ranch home, its contents, and her 1984 Ford Thunderbird parked in the driveway.
Greenfield was 77 when she died on Sept. 25. Her family and friends said good-bye to her then, but now, they are doing it in front of strangers. Whatever anyone thought of the auction - and there were people there who shook their heads and called the whole idea a damn shame - it was a way for Greenfield's family to settle her estate quickly and put her death behind them.
Some of Greenfield's relatives are here. There's Cheryl Joyner, Greenfield's niece and an executrix of her aunt's estate.
Joyner has dealt with death before, but the auction method was a first for her. She chose it over conventional garage sales and real estate agents because it was faster than driving back and forth from Rocky Mount, N.C., until the house is sold. Joyner said the money from the auction will be divided between Greenfield's two children.
As she talks, more and more people are starting to come in. Signs go up on the refrigerator informing bidders that all merchandise must be paid for today. That bid rigging is a felony.
Joyner instinctively knows things are about to get wacky. There's an element of dread, too. ``When you're sitting there and you watch people take off what it took someone their entire life to accomplish, it's very difficult,'' Joyner said.
Sitting across from Joyner is Frances Jones, Greenfield's sister. She's tapping into a pink box of Kleenex, using some and stuffing other tissues into her pocket for later. Her sister, known as Aunt Mae to the family, loved her flowers, made crafts, took good care of her Suffolk home, was a devoted churchgoer, and gave her love to everyone she knew.
I think she would approve of everything we've done, said Jones who also worked with Joyner to administer the estate.
Outside, Jones' daughter, Cindy Brown, is a young woman with tears in her eyes. She's standing in Aunt Mae's driveway looking at all the people. She, too, believes the auction was a good thing.
``Most everybody lives out of town. Aunt Mae would have wanted everything to be fair. It's a quick way. I hope that's the right word. Of course, we all say good-bye in our own way,'' Brown said.
Two days before the auction, Calvin Zedd swung his blue Crown Victoria onto Granby Street and described auctioning this way: ``This business, I swear to God, it'll drive you crazy.''
Zedd meets up with Kenny Keeter, who organizes auctions for him and is there in the trenches the day of the big show.
Auctions are held for different reasons, they explain. Sometimes people are in debt up to their eyelashes. Sometimes they move. Or die. What can be auctioned? Shopping centers. Apartment complexes. Homes. Office buildings. Farms. Vacant land. Whatever and wherever. Hands down, the hard auctions are the ones like Greenfield's.
``They don't know what to do. It's the first and only time they've been in this position and they look to us to tell them what to do,'' Keeter said. ``One thing about an auction. You get people to show up. They know they have to do something quick. It's the final showdown.
``People worry when they are considering an auction. They think it'll be put up and someone will buy it real cheap or given away. There's not a chance of (us) selling for half of what they want.''
Imagine yourself at an auction. You're standing there, something huge is about to happen. Maybe an apartment building is about to be sold. OK, throw in an office building and some acreage. You're driving home and realize that $2-million in real estate was sold that day.
That's pretty fast when you compare it to the traditional practice of listing with real estate agencies. Through the end of September, the average marketing time of all single family detached homes sold is 74 days, according to Metro MLS Inc., a regional multiple listing service.
National figures for real estate auctioning are unbounded. Jan Tarnow, manager for the Real Estate Auction Department of the National Association of Realtors, quotes $40-billion in real estate sold at auction in 1994, a figure that has quadrupled since 1981. ``I've seen an increased number of bidders which is the public attending auctions and purchasing real estate,'' Tarnow said. ``The public is becoming more confident with using it as a purchasing method.''
The NAR's real estate auction department was established about five years ago and works as an educational and information group for Realtors and also studies auction issues. That bold step to embrace auctions wasn't always seen in real estate.
Years ago, auctions were considered a last resort, too hard to understand and buyers and sellers were wary of what they were getting into. Steve Fox, president of Fox & Associates, an auction firm in Virginia Beach, said that in recent years, auctions have become less seclusive and more user-friendly.
Fox said even the old competition between real estate agents and auctioneers is subsiding. Some auction firms have a broker's license and staffers who are licensed in real estate. And some real estate agents are branching into the auction market.
``Initially . . . there was a feeling of competition and the less they dealt with and talked to their competition, the better, but that slowly has changed,'' Fox said.
Fox said that at least 50 percent of his business is referred by real estate brokers. ``That is a statement that proves we have come full circle with the real estate community,'' he said.
At Fox, 90 percent of every property the firm has taken to auction since the beginning of this year has sold. ``When I can say to them you've got a 90 percent safety net, you're doing pretty well for yourself,'' he said. What happens to the other 10 percent? Fox said those who showed interest in the property are approached to see what can be done afterward.
A lingering question for some auction critics is whether a property will be sold for its appraised value. ``What better appraisal than to have 30 buyers bid on that property?'' Fox asked.
Now that there is more than a passing interest in auctions, one point needs to be made: caveat emptor. A little Latin phrase that means let the buyer beware. ``There are pitfalls you need to be careful of. You don't want to take the financial risk without financial reward,'' said Thomas Tye, a real estate appraiser. ``There tends to be more of a buyer beware when you buy at an auction.''
Locally, Tye said he is seeing more and more auctions but the majority tend to be for institutional owners rather than individual owners. Tye said it is because, overall, individuals will probably stick to conventional marketing methods.
``I think that's because of a concern for what they will receive for a property and because they usually don't have a compelling reason to have the property sold within a week,'' Tye said.
But times are changing.
Bob Schaefer, owner/broker for Century 21 At The Mall, said his office is about to get a taste from the land down under.
Auctioning residential real estate is the norm in Australia, Schaefer said. Every year at the Century 21 International convention, the Australian delegation says ``we can't believe you aren't doing it over here,'' Schaefer said.
Century 21 At The Mall is planning to enter a training program to offer the Australian residential system in South Hampton Roads, he said. Schaefer said he expects the two-to-three person division for auctioning to be up and running in March. ``We pride ourselves on being innovators. I see this as being a new innovation,'' Schaefer said.
It's time.
Dozens of people are walking by Greenfield's doll collection, punch bowls, the videos of ``The Bob Newhart Show'' and ``WKRP in Cincinnati,'' the Parcheesi game and the stack of gospel albums.
Among those who have made it here today are Ellen Parker and Donna Scott, good friends who swear they could take in an auction once a day. Like a vitamin. They go to meet people and learn what it means to hang in there.
Milling through the crowd is Charles Davis, who had the winning bid for a house that was auctioned by Zedd in the Larchmont section of Norfolk in September.
Of the auction method, Davis said, ``You take it in stride. I felt it was a good deal. It's a good way to sell the property if you want to sell it fast. If you see a good deal, you take it. If you don't, it's like a streetcar. Another one comes along the next day,'' Davis said.
At 11 a.m., Stephen Zedd, Calvin Zedd's strapping, twentysomething son, stands before the crowd. ``Any buyers? Any takers? Let's go.''
After small household items are sold, after the Thunderbird has a new owner, it's time for the house. At 12:30 p.m., bidders are given their alert. A down payment is expected right there and the balance is due in 45 days. Joyner can reject or take the winning bid.
Minutes later, it's over. The house is sold to Bob and Shirley Mebane for $92,000. One of the first things Bob Mebane does is hug Greenfield's niece, Cindy Brown, who still has tears in her eyes. The Mebanes are as overwhelmed by the emotion as anyone who knew Greenfield.
They used to live in a neighboring subdivision and raised their children in the Bennetts Creek area before building a log home about 10 years ago along the Nansemond River. Immediately after the auction, and in the days that followed, the Mebanes were having reservations about giving up their log home.
Shirley Mebane would be torn between selling Greenfield's home and moving into it. ``It's extremely emotional because I'm giving up a large home. What we were looking for is something to settle into,'' she said.
Joyner was happy with the outcome. ``I had talked to a Realtor and was told I'd walk away with $90,000 after the commission. I figure this is about the same.''
Local auctioneers offer these tips for those bidding at real estate auctions:
Examine the house. Make sure you want it and can afford it. Do your homework. Thoroughly inspect the property, visit the deed office and check the home's background. Talk to the tenants and neighbors.
Be prepared for the auction. Adhere to the auctioneer's terms and register the day of the auction. Have a deposit ready and check with the auction company before you get there as to what type of payment they expect you to have.
Most want a cashier's check, but personal checks may be accepted, especially if you are known to the company. How soon the balance is due varies, but you are looking at weeks, not years.
Know the difference between an absolute auction and a reserve auction. An absolute auction means the property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price. At a reserve event, the seller can accept or reject the highest bid.
Bring a friend and let the person hold you to a bid so you don't pay more than you want to or can afford. It keeps you from getting caught up in bidding fever.
Talk to the auction company. Don't feel self-conscious about disclosing your interest. They are there to assist and educate. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover by John H. Sheally II
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Bidders crowd the yard during the recent Greenfield estate auction
in Suffolk.
by CNB