More Than 100 Bank-Owned Homes in Inland Empire to be Auctioned on July 24 by Bank of America, REDC and New Vista

Auction is exclusively for owner-occupant homebuyers

Ontario, CA (Vocus) July 2, 2010

Bank of America, real estate auction specialist REDC and New Vista have announced that they will auction more than 100 bank-owned homes in the Inland Empire. The auction will be open to homebuyers seeking a home as a primary residence, municipalities participating in the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), and housing nonprofit organizations.

The auction will be held on Saturday, July 24, at the Ontario Convention Center. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. PDT and the auction begins at 9:30 a.m. PDT.

The July 24 auction is for bidders who intend to occupy the homes as their principal residence, without competition from investors. The Bank of America-owned homes to be auctioned have been removed from the market, inspected and repaired, and are ready for sale.

More information on the auction, including a list of all homes in the auction, property descriptions and photos can be found at REDC’s website http://www.Auction.com/ie. To be considered for purchase approval, potential homebuyer’s are advised to bring the following items to the auction: government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license or passport; funds for deposit; past two years W-2s or if self-employed the last two years of complete tax returns; most recent 30 day paystub showing Year-to-Date income; most recent two months bank statements on all accounts; and a recent utility bill in the buyer’s name.

Because homebuyers have found it difficult competing with investors in today’s market, this auction is exclusively for homebuyers, with Bank of America offering very attractive financing options onsite, in addition to a three percent commission for agents who bring their homebuyer clients to the auction.

There are two auction sessions: The 9:30 a.m. auction session is exclusively for buyers who are pre-approved for assistance through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a federally funded program for low- to middle-income homebuyers willing to buy a vacant home in specifically targeted areas. The second portion, at 1 p.m., is for first-time homebuyers pre-approved for a mortgage by any lender.

New Vista will hold open houses on July 10, 17 and 18 so interested buyers can tour the homes before the July 24 auction. Potential buyers can also find property descriptions at auction.com/ie.

New Vista is also scheduling homebuying seminars for interested bidders to better prepare them for homeownership and will perform home inspections to ensure the homes are in good condition.

“Owner-occupants are the key to revitalizing and strengthening neighborhoods that have been hard hit by the economy,” said Jim Park, CEO of New Vista. “Working with Bank of America, REDC and New Vista has created a one day homebuyer event that gives first time and owner occupant buyers an exclusive opportunity to purchase homes. This unique event will help turn 100 foreclosed properties into homes for many deserving families.”

REDC has conducted similar auctions earlier this year in Arizona, Nevada and California, auctioning a total of 368 properties to individuals and families with a combined purchase price of $32.7 million.

“Bank of America has a comprehensive neighborhood stabilization strategy for communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, ranging from industry-leading loan modification efforts and targeted home retention outreach, to being the first major servicer to create an REO sales process specifically for HUD NSP recipients.

Recognizing the Inland Empire’s unique housing and economic challenges, it is best when we can sell our inventory of real-estate owned properties to families who will live in the homes and contribute to the revitalization of the greater community,” said Matt Vernon, national servicing executive, Bank of America.    

Jeffrey Frieden, CEO of REDC, says “For families looking to buy a home in the Inland Empire, this special auction event will be an amazing opportunity. There will be over 100 homes that are ready to move in, and borrowers may be able to qualify for conventional or FHA financing, allowing buyers to purchase a home with only 3.5% down payments with FHA financing and nominal closing costs. We’ve had great success this year putting families into homes and we expect this event will be a great boost to the local communities.”

“This auction event is an example of Bank of America’s pledge to stabilize communities and promote homeownership opportunities, and to help manage their REO inventory in an effective, responsible manner,” he adds.

In addition to community auctions like this one, Bank of America works with nearly 400 communities and housing nonprofits through the NSP program in high foreclosure markets across the country, providing a daily inventory of pre-listed and listed properties in the bank’s servicing portfolio, and a dedicated team of trained asset managers assigned to NSP participants to expedite the REO sales process. More than 655 properties totaling more than $62 million have already been sold with NSP funds, with 161 additional properties currently in escrow. Bank of America also works with the National Community Stabilization Trust to further serve over 100 localities across the nation hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis to offer ‘first look’ purchase opportunities for owner-occupied buyers.

Says Frieden: “This unique auction event will help turn these bank-owned properties into homes for many deserving families. Bank of America and REDC are trying to pave the road to recovery one house at a time.”

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,900 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About REDC
Established in 1990, REDC pioneered the model for modern real estate auctions and has transformed into a comprehensive real estate services company. In addition to being the leading real estate auction marketing firm in the country, the REDC group of companies also provides real estate brokerage services, asset management, short sale facilitation and title insurance. The company has established a dominant position in its industry by selling more than $6.5 billion in real estate assets at auction since 2007. REDC's primary clients are residential and commercial mortgage lenders and home builders. The success of the company is based on the aggregation of real estate assets (residential, commercial, notes) that are marketed and sold in large event-style auctions across the country and in online auctions at http://www.Auction.com. Information about REDC and a complete list of upcoming auctions are available at http://www.Auction.com. REDC is based in Irvine, California with additional offices in Dallas and New York.

About New Vista
Established in 2007, New Vista was founded by two multicultural real estate leaders: Gary Acosta and Jim Park. With the largest national network of multicultural real estate brokers, New Vista provides a full service REO marketing and asset management services that supports community stabilization and owner occupancy execution for many of the top mortgage providers in the nation.

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