No investors, please: A foreclosure auction for the everyman

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In a sign of how marketable the idea of foreclosed homes has become, Bank of America is planning to auction off some of its Inland Empire properties Saturday -- with no investors allowed, the bank says.

Unlike courthouse-steps auctions, known as trustee sales, the homes up for bid Saturday have already been removed from the market, inspected and repaired, according to the bank. Although homes sold at trustee sales typically go at steep discounts, many potential buyers find themselves outmuscled by highly organized teams of investors flush with cash.

On Saturday the bank will be selling more than 100 foreclosures at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario. The auction is open only to bidders who intend to live in the properties, as well as to nonprofit housing agencies and to city governments participating in specific federal housing programs.

Full details of the sale are available here.
-- Alejandro Lazo