Foreclosure Auction

How to avoid foreclosure HAGERSTOWN -- Up for auction: Two-story house assessed last year at $302,090. Minimum bid: $444,000. Any takers? The answer Wednesday was a resounding no. Out of 14 foreclosed-upon homes up for their requisite auction on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse, not one received a single bid, and those present said it was pretty clear why. "There's really no money to be made on these houses," auctioneer Mike Donofrio of Alex Cooper Auctioneers said.

The Corner Pub, a downtown gathering place for more than a quarter of a century is scheduled for a foreclosure auction in October, although co-owner Darryl Sword said an infusion of private funding could forestall a sale. Sword said a series of problems - having money embezzled, the bad economy and the closing of nearby Washington County Hospital - led to “a tight situation” for the business that opened on South Mulberry Street 26 years ago. The possibility of a sale, however, appears to have been averted, Sword said Thursday.

Foreclosure auction draws no bidders Winds cut power across Tri-State Courthouse evacuated after bomb threat Trailer fire believed to have been arson Bomb threat clears Wal-Mart

HAGERSTOWN -- A Hagerstown hotel purchased at a foreclosure auction last summer has changed to a lower-priced franchise affiliation. The hotel at 1101 Dual Highway had been a Quality Inn. This month, it became an Econo Lodge Inn & Suites. Choice Hotels International owns both of those hotel brands and several others. Raj Patel of Hagerstown said Wednesday that he and his brother-in-law, Bipin Patel, bought the Quality Inn at a foreclosure auction in July 2008. They paid $1,712,500 and the deed was transferred on Aug. 13, 2008, according to Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation records.

The Hagerstown Hotel & Convention Center on Dual Highway is scheduled to close this month, a tourism official said. DFIN LLC is buying the property, according to Bill Barnes, a partner in the limited liability company. The sale is expected to become final in about three weeks. He declined to give the sale price. DFIN hasn't decided what to do with the property, Barnes said. He said the property's current owner, VFC Partners 8 LLC, and its management company made the decision to close the hotel, not DFIN.

The Hagerstown Hotel and Convention Center property at 1910 Dual Highway is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on Tuesday. The sale is set for 11 a.m. at the entrance to the Washington County Courthouse, according to a notice filed by Richard E. Hagerty, substitute trustee with Troutman Sanders LLP of McLean, Va. The property is being sold because owners Watchwood LLC and Bahman Inc. defaulted under the terms of their 2006 financing agreements...

The reading of the legal notice at the foreclosure auction for the Hagerstown Hotel and Convention Center lasted longer than the actual bidding Tuesday, with the company holding the promissory note on the property being the sole bidder at $2 million. VFC Partners 8 LLC submitted the bid in front of the Washington County Courthouse in Hagerstown. The limited liability corporation is the owner of the promissory note on the hotel and convention center, according to an affidavit filed in March with the clerk of the Circuit Court for Washington County.

HAGERSTOWN -- A bank is foreclosing on two parcels at Hager's Crossing, a large housing development on the city's western edge. Last fall, the Hagerstown Planning Commission approved 147 multiplex units -- similar to apartments -- on a 16.52-acre parcel, but nothing has been built. A community center for the development sits on an adjacent 9.34-acre parcel. A foreclosure auction on the parcels is scheduled for May 5. In October 2001, The Rachuba Group of Eldersburg, Md., submitted plans to build 936 residential units behind the Centre at Hagerstown as part of a planned-unit development, with a mix of uses.

Train station auctioned By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI kimy@herald-mail.com photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer Troy Jernigan placed the winning bid on the Smithsburg train station during a foreclosure auction at the steps of the Washington County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon. An auctioneer started the bidding at $70,000 and Jernigan ended up buying the building for $89,700, according to attorney Roger Schlossburg, trustee for the property. Klaus Von Mahr, the owner, defaulted on a $112,000 mortgage with Hagerstown Trust Co., said Schlossberg.

Foreclosure auction unsuccessful WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Foreclosure activity remains high in Washington County, with 29 foreclosures reported in January, according to Sharon Disque, executive director of the Hagerstown Neighborhood Development Partnership. That's the highest number since October, which also had 29 foreclosures, according to Disque's records. In 2008, there was an average of about 23 foreclosures a month in the county. In 2007, that average was about nine a month; in 2006, it was about four.

The Corner Pub, a downtown gathering place for more than a quarter of a century is scheduled for a foreclosure auction in October, although co-owner Darryl Sword said an infusion of private funding could forestall a sale. Sword said a series of problems - having money embezzled, the bad economy and the closing of nearby Washington County Hospital - led to “a tight situation” for the business that opened on South Mulberry Street 26 years ago. The possibility of a sale, however, appears to have been averted, Sword said Thursday.

The Hagerstown Hotel & Convention Center on Dual Highway is scheduled to close this month, a tourism official said. DFIN LLC is buying the property, according to Bill Barnes, a partner in the limited liability company. The sale is expected to become final in about three weeks. He declined to give the sale price. DFIN hasn't decided what to do with the property, Barnes said. He said the property's current owner, VFC Partners 8 LLC, and its management company made the decision to close the hotel, not DFIN.

The reading of the legal notice at the foreclosure auction for the Hagerstown Hotel and Convention Center lasted longer than the actual bidding Tuesday, with the company holding the promissory note on the property being the sole bidder at $2 million. VFC Partners 8 LLC submitted the bid in front of the Washington County Courthouse in Hagerstown. The limited liability corporation is the owner of the promissory note on the hotel and convention center, according to an affidavit filed in March with the clerk of the Circuit Court for Washington County.

The Hagerstown Hotel and Convention Center property at 1910 Dual Highway is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on Tuesday. The sale is set for 11 a.m. at the entrance to the Washington County Courthouse, according to a notice filed by Richard E. Hagerty, substitute trustee with Troutman Sanders LLP of McLean, Va. The property is being sold because owners Watchwood LLC and Bahman Inc. defaulted under the terms of their 2006 financing agreements...

A foreclosure auction scheduled for Thursday to sell the Academy Theatre Banquet & Conference Center at 56-58 E. Washington St. in Hagerstown was canceled. City Theater LLC, which owns the building, owed more than $560,000 on the mortgage as of October, according to documents on file at Washington County Circuit Court. There was no explanation on Thursday of why the auction was canceled. Milton N. Stamper, who is part of the limited liability corporation, declined to comment when reached by phone.

A bank bought back a piece of the Hager's Crossing development Wednesday at a foreclosure auction that drew about 10 people. A second parcel was scheduled to be sold, but that auction was called off. M & T Bank foreclosed on a $2.475 million mortgage secured in 2006 by Rachuba Town and Country LLC. As of Jan. 31, 2010, none of the principal had been repaid, according to an affidavit on file in Washington County Circuit Court. The outstanding debt was $2,521,596.21, including interest and late charges.

HAGERSTOWN -- A bank is foreclosing on two parcels at Hager's Crossing, a large housing development on the city's western edge. Last fall, the Hagerstown Planning Commission approved 147 multiplex units -- similar to apartments -- on a 16.52-acre parcel, but nothing has been built. A community center for the development sits on an adjacent 9.34-acre parcel. A foreclosure auction on the parcels is scheduled for May 5. In October 2001, The Rachuba Group of Eldersburg, Md., submitted plans to build 936 residential units behind the Centre at Hagerstown as part of a planned-unit development, with a mix of uses.

Foreclosure auction draws no bidders Winds cut power across Tri-State Courthouse evacuated after bomb threat Trailer fire believed to have been arson Bomb threat clears Wal-Mart

Foreclosure auction unsuccessful WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Foreclosure activity remains high in Washington County, with 29 foreclosures reported in January, according to Sharon Disque, executive director of the Hagerstown Neighborhood Development Partnership. That's the highest number since October, which also had 29 foreclosures, according to Disque's records. In 2008, there was an average of about 23 foreclosures a month in the county. In 2007, that average was about nine a month; in 2006, it was about four.