This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.
What Was Remedy If Mortgage Balances Exceeded Winning Bid?
It is not unusual in a hot suburban residential real estate market for an offering to morph into a “bidding war”- a de facto auction. And, on occasion, an auction is the sales method of choice from the start. But, as a recent case illustrates, a real estate auction sale may raise some unique factual disputes and concomitant legal issues.
Theodore Brois and Helene Brois authorized Concierge Auction, LLC, to conduct an auction of their property located at 3 Tallwoods Road in Armonk, New York, by an agreement dated May 21, 2018. The Auction Marketing Agreement provided that the auction “shall be conducted without reserve” and that the Brois, as sellers, “shall be obligated to sell the [property] to the highest bidder.” That agreement included a provision giving the Brois the right to cancel the auction, by written notice of cancellation and certain payments, which right expired at 12:00 p.m. on the day of the auction. The Broises pre-executed a contract of sale for the property on June 26, 2018. They also signed a document entitled an Auction Sale Acknowledgment on June 26, 2018, acknowledging that the highest opening bid was $1,500,000.
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