Where else can you get a $500,000+ home for five figures? The Real Estate Disposition Corp. is holding a foreclosure auction for 375 homes in NY, NJ, and Pennsylvania at the Javits Center today. The Post explains that while the auction is free, "but buyers need a $5,000 cashier's check and valid ID. Only cash will be accepted for some homes." A spokesman told Crain's, "In the past, there weren’t enough foreclosed New York homes to hold an auction. This year I suspect that there will be a second and third auction in the city." While some of the homes may be great deals—this graphic shows a $740,000 house in Port Chester with a starting bid of $149,000—many of the homes are not in very good shape. And there is criticism of foreclosure auctions: A group will be protesting while Rep. Carolyn Maloney noted that the House passed a measure to make mortgage payments affordable, "In these tough economic times, we need to preserve the American dream, not auction it off."
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