Court Report

Our journey to the Courthouse downtown Friday for probate hearings was uneventful.  There were 4 properties requiring court confirmation; the first 3 had no countering bidders and the judge signed off on the purchase without any changes.  The 4th, however, had one buyer show up to bid.  If you've never been a witness to this procedure, this is how it goes.  The Judge notes the accepted offer price and calculates, from a formula, the first overbid price.  He asks if the countering buyer agrees to that new price, and if he does, then he asks if the buyer who brought the offer to court is willing to pay that new price as well.  If he agrees, the judge then calculates the next overbid -- in this case, the property was appraised at $280,000.  The judge went from one to the other in price increase increments of $3,000.  If both agreed to the newly proffered price, it was raised again by $3,000 and again by $3,000.  In the end, for a final selling price of $333,000, the countering buyer prevailed.   Which always makes me a little sad, since that means the poor potential buyer who months ago put down a 10% deposit, paid for inspections, then waited for his day in court, walks away with nothing in hand except the promise that his 10% deposit will be returned.