In a Move to Increase Proceeds and Accessibility, Osage County Moves to Virtual Foreclosure Auctions
Bid4Assets, a leading online marketplace for distressed real estate auctions, has been selected by the Osage County, OK sheriff’s office to conduct the state’s first-ever online mortgage foreclosure sale. The sheriff’s office has cited maximizing excess proceeds for defendants and eliminating long travel times for auction bidders as the reasons they chose to transition from in-person to online auctions.
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“Osage is the largest county in the state, which creates a challenge when it comes to our foreclosure auctions. Some bidders have to travel an hour to the courthouse if they want to participate,” said Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden.
“With our move to a virtual auction format, all citizens can now place their bids from anywhere, on any computer or mobile device. We want bidders to feel confident in this process, so we selected a veteran of the industry with over 20 years of experience. We recommend bidders use the links we provide on our sheriff’s website to ensure you’re on the correct platform.”
Bid4Assets collaborated with sheriffs and foreclosure attorneys to pass Senate Bill 976, which was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 25, 2022. The bill gave Oklahoma sheriffs the option, but not the mandate, to conduct foreclosure auctions online. Several other sheriffs’ offices are preparing to move their foreclosure sales online following the bill’s passage.
“Online auctions increase participation and sale proceeds by opening the process to more bidders,” said Bid4Assets President Jesse Loomis.
“Virtual sales are more efficient, will scale with rising foreclosures and come at no cost to counties. We have several other pending contracts in Oklahoma and expect virtual sales to quickly become the new normal.”
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When sheriff’s sales have strong bidding, excess sales proceeds are used to pay off the entire debts associated with a property and the defendant can claim those excess proceeds. In other states like Pennsylvania, sheriffs who have transitioned online with Bid4Assets have expressed a significant increase in excess proceeds to the benefit of their communities.
Bid4Assets began the process with Osage County working alongside Captain William “Willy” Hargraves, who was involved in a fatal car accident before the project could be completed. Those wishing to donate to Captain Hargraves’ family can do so via a GoFundMe.
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